Review: ‘Maudie’ paints a complex but fulfilling picture (Includes first-hand account)

There have been a number of movies based around characters who are underestimated or overlooked because they have a particular mental or physical challenge; frequently the person is faking a debility specifically for this purpose, but other times it’s real even though their abilities have been misjudged. More often than not, it’s outsiders who recognize their aptitude for something before those closest to them even notice. In Maudie, the main character’s talents are acknowledged by strangers and most of the world before her own family accepts she has any.

To Maud’s (Sally Hawkins) family, she is a burden. In spite of being a capable adult, she’s forced to live with her aunt after her mother dies and her brother sees to the estate without a moment of consideration for Maud’s needs. Tired of being supervised and treated as inferior, she answers an ad at the grocery store for a live-in housekeeper. Everett Lewis (Ethan Hawke) is a fish peddler and a bit of a hermit with a hard exterior, so he’s not about to give Maud any special treatment if she chooses to work for him. She moves into his one-room house and after a rocky start, they’re eventually married. However, in between her chores, Maud continues to paint brightly-coloured representations of the world as she sees it — and people begin to notice. First selling hand-painted Christmas cards for 25 cents each, she eventually starts selling larger pieces until it becomes a full-time occupation.

Sally Hawkins goes dancing in EXCLUSIVE new clip from @MaudieFilm — via @CineplexMovies #MaudieFilm March 30, 2017

Maud Lewis is a renowned folk artist from Nova Scotia whose paintings generally consisted of what she could see out a window: meadows and snow, birds and flowers, butterflies and Everett. She used the paint straight from the tube and never mixed them, so her colours were bold and vibrant. And when she didn’t have a traditional canvas, she painted on anything she could find from old cookie sheets to discarded pine board, as well as the windows and walls of her new home.

Once Maud took control of her life, she found it could be very rewarding. She stands up to her aunt and brother on more than one occasion, only to discover they betrayed her trust in a way that could never be forgiven. Nonetheless, she finds her independence with Everett as well as happiness because he doesn’t treat her as less than himself or anyone else. And even though he’s a hard man, he demonstrates his love and support for Maud in subtler ways, such as doing more of the housework when her artwork gains popularity. Unfortunately her arthritis eventually made it very difficult to paint, though that never really stopped her.

In addition to chronicling the life and hardships of a renowned artist, the movie is also a touching love story about two of society’s outcasts who found each other and made each other better for it. Hawkins and Hawke are outstanding in their roles, convincingly portraying their respectively difficult characters as well as the odd chemistry they share. Both actors turn in career-highlight performances, even though this film will likely fly under the radar.

Director: Aisling Walsh
Starring: Ethan Hawke, Sally Hawkins and Kari Matchett

Similar Posts

  • Review: ‘Mary Queen of Scots’ deserves royal assent (Includes first-hand account)

    Women have strived for power for centuries, but those who’ve achieved it have found it incredibly difficult to maintain. People, particularly men, have historically had problems being subordinate to female leaders — especially when they believe they should be at the head of the table or, more commonly, that they can do a better job. In spite of being born to their positions and spending their lives training for their role, monarchs are constantly under threat by someone waiting in the wings hoping to gain from a marriage proposal or their deposal. Mary Queen of Scots chronicles the life of a woman who kept a steely grip on her throne until they found the one weakness she could not deny.

  • Review: ‘She Who Must Burn’ is intelligent and pointed horror (Includes first-hand account)

    Religious zealots take up causes they consider an affront to their belief system and go to extreme measures to eradicate the perceived threat in some way. Consequently health clinics have had to employ increased security to protect those who dispense or seek reproductive services, particularly abortions. The methods of the opposition can be quite frightening and She Who Must Burn portrays the worst of the worst.

  • Review: ‘Bloodshot’ forgets they’re still human (Includes first-hand account)

    Science and technology have been changing the way we live for centuries, particularly since the industrial revolution. From making tasks easier to extending life expectancies, the world is forever evolving due to new discoveries and innovations. Procedures and treatments allow some to “cheat death,” eradicating disease and repairing or replacing damaged parts. However, they’re still only able to reverse death in the movies… for now. Bringing back the dead has mixed results in fiction, but it’s typically a negative experience to some degree and must be rectified by the end. In Bloodshot, a soldier is revived with the superhuman ability to bring armies to their knees.

  • Review: This week’s releases define and defy tradition

    This week’s releases include a comedic look at life inside a video game; a young man finding his road to knighthood; a new way to even the odds; a new season of fighting bad guys; an reimagined WWII; and the classic monsters that set the standard.