Maudie

Parental Rating: PG-13

Contains: Adult Content    

Jill's Review

Opens July 7, 2017

Runs 116 minutes

This is the true story of Maud Lewis (Sally Hawkins), a disadvantaged and severely arthritic woman, who finds love and her artistic talent later in life. Maud was born just a little slow. But, she grew up with her brother Charles (Zachary Bennett) in a loving home until her parents died. Then, her brother sold the house and dumped her with her Aunt Ida (Gabrielle Rose). They immediately clashed and soon Maud was answering an ad placed by a reclusive fish seller, Everett Lewis (Ethan Hawke), in need of a house-cleaning woman. Maud arrives and realizes that Everett has no social skills whatsoever (and a really tiny house). In fact, he is basically a hermit. But, she sees this as the only chance she has to make it on her own. Soon, she has moved into Everett's home and even his heart. She takes up painting. She paints the walls, the windows and even random pieces of wood. Her paintings are so happy and cheerful and colorful people are drawn to them and before she knows it, she is depicted in a TV documentary. This sends flocks of people all the way to Nova Scotia, to the tiny house she shares with Everett in hopes of buying one of her paintings. Even as she becomes more and more gnarled due to her arthritis, she continues to paint and maintain her happy and positive spirit.

This movie was actually better than I expected. It is based on a true story. The story is heart-breaking but Maud doesn't let it get to her. Sally Hawkins and Ethan Hawke both give fantastic performances. Today, Everett would probably be classified on the autism spectrum. But, back then he was just a crotchedy, grumpy, reclusive man. He grew to love Maud and it is very touching to watch them together as they get older. Apparently, their home in Nova Scotia is still there and serves as a museum for her art.  There is also a clip of the real Maud and Everett at the end of the film. I really enjoyed this film. A great story that I did not know with great performances from the lead actors. Go see it!

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