It is native to the Americas, where it grows in tropical and subtropical regions. Reality is unpredictable seen through Maud's sleep-deprived eyes.Paspalum vaginatum is a species of grass known by many names, including seashore paspalum, biscuit grass, saltwater couch, silt grass, and swamp couch. Liquid is an ongoing motif, dripping from faucets, rolling in from the ocean, bubbling on the stove-greens and reds, soapy water down the drain, a strange cyclone suddenly erupting in a glass of beer. The color scheme is very controlled, with an almost underwater gleam, greenish and dark, light struggling to make it through the thick mottled windows. The wallpaper is Victorian-busy, as are the floor tiles. Glass uses the location of Amanda's house to great effect, reveling in creepy moments of stillness, where the halls and stairways yawn around the quivering intense young nurse. This is an independent film with a small budget, and Glass works extremely well within these parameters to create a murky and ominous mood. Newcomer Adam Bzowski's score-aligned with Maud's subjective experience-is deeply unnerving, as is the sound design by Paul Davies, which further traps us in Maud's point of view. The film has much in common with ' Taxi Driver,' 'Carrie,' and ' First Reformed,' and it has a similar mood of inevitability and dread. By keeping the film a character study-as opposed to a plot-driven story of an avenging angel/demon-'Saint Maud' is less about the religion, and more about Maud's existential loneliness (alone-ness, more like), her isolation, the dangers of being so cut off from humanity. But 'Saint Maud' comes with the stamp of its creator and shivers with fresh possibilities. It's in a continuum of stories of religious mortification, obsession, and torment. It's exciting when newcomers like Glass arrive with a fully-fleshed-out and confidently executed vision, particularly when the vision is eccentric, difficult, and strange. This still doesn't provide any easy explanation. We don't know how she came to be 'saved,' but there is an extremely revealing sequence where Maud 'backslides' into her former ways. When she senses God's presence, her face contorts involuntarily into an open-mouthed almost frozen gaze of ecstasy, more like an orgasm than anything else (historically, those lines have always been blurred). You've heard of the 'pebble in the shoe,' but pebbles aren't enough for Maud: she needs nails! She puts hard corn kernels on the floor and kneels on them to pray. She puts nails through the soles of her shoes and slowly walks the pier, blood seeping out onto the ground, her face blazing with pain and ecstasy. How to maintain that state is a constant struggle. She moves through the busy resort streets like a wraith, existing on another plane, floating above her body in reveries of bliss, transcendence, ecstasy. Maud's face is serious and intense, and her hair hangs in long curtains on either side of her face. With each scene, each moment, more and more of Maud is revealed, who she was pre-conversion, who she is now. It is about Maud alone, and what happens to Maud when Amanda rejects conversion in a very public way (i.e. This story is not about Maud and Amanda, not really. And first 'Saint Maud' feels like it is about a power struggle between Maud and Carol for the heart and/or soul of Amanda. But maybe Amanda is just playing along, or, worse, making fun of Maud's fervor. Amanda needs to be 'saved' immediately.Īt first it seems that Amanda might be open to the succor Maud's preaching has to offer. The ascetic Maud, peeking through doorways and down dark halls, is worried about all of this.

She's in the midst of one final romantic fling, with Carol, a young woman she met online ( Lily Frazer).

Amanda surrounds herself with evidence of her old glory: posters of her dance recitals, her costumes, makeup, outrageous jewelry. Maud gets a new gig as home 'carer' for Amanda ( Jennifer Ehle), a famous dancer and choreographer who has retired to the seashore for the final months of her life. It's thrilling to meet a character where you have no idea what she will do from one moment to the next. Although the film has much in common with other religious-based horror films, and is often quite terrifying in its own right, 'Saint Maud' is mostly interested in the experiential realities of its central character, and Clark is so deeply in touch with Maud's shattered psyche it's impossible to look away from her. This makes for some very tough but rewarding viewing. The glimpses we get of other people's sometimes alarmed responses to her are important moments of outside perspectives, but Maud is our only entry into the story. 'Saint Maud' stays very close to Maud's point of view.

Seashore movie wikipedia