J.R.R. Tolkien is easily among the most influential fantasy authors of all time, thanks to the legacy of The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, and a whole host of some of the most interesting characters in fiction history. One character who has seen significant growth outside the novels is Galadriel, given life by Cate Blanchett in The Lord of the Rings and expanded heartily in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, portrayed powerfully by (Morfydd Clark). There’s no doubt that Clark is excellent as Galadriel, bringing strength, intelligence, charm, and a commanding screen presence to the complicated role. Although the Amazon Studios series is an excellent showcase of her talents as a performer, Clark’s unequivocal best turn was in Rose Glass’ phenomenal religious psychological horror film, Saint Maud.

Morfydd Clark Is Terrifying and Fragile in ‘Saint Maud’

In the film, Clark plays Katie/Maud, a newly devout palliative care worker with a troubled situation in her past, now working for former dancer Amanda (Jennifer Ehle). Self-flagellating and claiming to experience God’s presence, Maud is an isolated woman obsessed with connecting to God and His will. Amanda, by contrast, is worldly, intelligent, and uninterested in Maud’s religious proclivities. They still find ways to connect somewhat due to a sort of shared isolation, Maud’s being somewhat self-imposed while Amanda’s is a tragic consequence of being on death’s door. It’s a complicated and often tense relationship, Maud’s myopic obsession descending to dangerous and unhealthy levels while she’s caught in religious reverie. As is often the case with loud and unique roles, the situation provides an incredible showcase of Clark’s performative caliber.

Clark is extraordinary, frightful, and somehow still delicate as Maud. Clark’s performance simultaneously exudes fragility and intensity. On the one hand, Maud is dedicated and steadfast in her divine convictions at some level, but not so much that she can withstand challenges with grace. On the other hand, Maud reeks of desperation—she doesn’t merely claim to be connected to God; she deeply needs to be due to her accidentally killing a patient under her care prior to the film’s events. It’s the common tragic story of someone with trauma but few tools to process it healthily, so they fall into the easy catch-all solution of religious conviction. She takes it to uncommon heights, however, in Maud’s belief that she knows what God wants for her—to save Amanda’s soul whether Amanda wants it or not—and in her seemingly supernatural experiences that we see from her perspective (and which are heavily implied to be false by the film’s end). This complex of mental maladies is all made further difficult for Maud by her implied sexual repression.

Morfydd Clark Plays a Woman Spiraling to a Heartbreaking, Harrowing Extent

On the one hand, she personifies God as a man and even at times seems to be in love with God in some way. At times, in fact, one would be hard-pressed to distinguish her religious ecstasy from sexual ecstasy. On the other hand, there is an implied repressed attraction to Amanda. When Amanda flirts with Maud, the interest isn’t rebuffed despite her exhibited religiosity. She can’t embrace the possibility but is sublimating the desire and funneling it into extreme religious commitments. Maud even spies on Amanda when the latter is having sex, and Amanda accuses Maud of jealousy. Whether or not Maud has romantic or sexual feelings towards women remains unexplained, but in part because Maud has no healthy romantic relationships of any kind.

She’s essentially caught in a romantic triangle of her own mental making, between her interest in Amanda that she can’t indulge in and her romantic feelings towards what she believes to be God, neither of which can be attained. It produces a spiral of Maud needing to feel solid in her connection to God, hurting and isolating herself to achieve it, and then needing that connection all the more desperately, and Clark plays that terrible spiral to a heartbreaking, harrowing extent. Clark portrays all these layers well and with full conviction, regularly shifting the tone of her performance on a dime, as Maud’s sanity progressively slips and she gets more vulnerable and more dangerous, leading to a fateful conclusion. It’s one of the most incredible performances of the year.

Saint Maud

Release Date

October 9, 2020

Runtime

85 Minutes