The opening moments of Saint Maud are incredibly jarring: A dark room, blood dripping on the floor, a dead body, Maud in the corner with her hands and face covered in blood. Then, through a transition of simmering pasta sauce, we see Maud in her small, extremely neat apartment as she starts to pray. What writer/director Rose Glass does so well throughout the movie is juxtapose these two sides of Maud. The dark and the light are constantly fighting each other, which Glass portrays throughout the film by playing with light and shadow.
Saint Maud tells the story of Maud (Morfydd Clark), a seemingly meek, Christian in-home nurse. An unexplained blood-covered scene that opens the movie references a dark incident in her past that hints that Maud may not be the person she appears to be. Throughout the movie, Maud’s religious fervor grows as she feels called to “save” Amanda (Jennifer Ehle), the woman who she is caring for. Maud speaks openly with Amanda about her love for God and the moments that she experiences the presence of God. She feels understood and accepted by Amanda. But when Amanda “turns” on Maud and publicly shames her, Maud’s fervor turns to righteousness and she sets out on a path to cleanse Amanda once and for all.
Maud’s dual nature is present almost constantly throughout the movie. As Maud sits praying over her dinner in the movie’s opening scene, her face is in the light, but her head and everything behind her are completely in shadow. Any notion that Maud might just have bad lighting in her apartment is dispelled as Maud leaves for her first day at her new job. She ascends the stairs and is completely in shadow, but is fully in the light as she goes down the other side. As Maud continues to step into her role as caretaker for Amanda, her dual nature begins to stand out even more. As she snoops through Amanda’s things, half of her face is in shadow. As Maud listens to Amanda getting ready, Amanda asks for her opinion and Maud’s face emerges from the darkness, only moving halfway into the light. When she returns from her night out, Maud waits in the doorway as Amanda and her lover fight, again with shadow covering half of her face. No matter the situation, Maud is shown both in light and shadow.
But, while these small moments show that Maud is constantly torn between her shadowy past and her religious present, Maud’s true internal battle comes to the forefront as she sees an opportunity to “save” Amanda from her life and lifestyle. Amanda sees Maud’s religious medal, and they begin to talk about religion. Maud explains her beliefs, admitting that she feels the presence of, and has even heard the voice of God. Rather than admonishing or dismissing Maud, Amanda seems intrigued and even calls Maud her “little savior.” As Maud leaves the room, the lights in the house begin to slowly brighten and dim. Maud ascends the stairs as she alternates between being fully illuminated and cast in deep shadow. The idea of being a savior for Amanda sets creates a huge conflict between the two sides of Maud. It is clear from her expression when Amanda calls Maud her “little savior” that Maud is overjoyed with the idea of being in that role. Instead of the small moments where Maud’s face is half in and out of shadow we have seen so far, Maud alternates from being completely in shadow to brightly illuminated. Even in a moment when Maud feels extremely connected to God and her faith, she is not able to completely shut out the dark side of her nature.
The movie’s ominous and ambiguous opening scene leaves a lot of questions as to what has happened in Maud’s past. We get slightly more insight into Maud’s past, and in turn, her two sides, when she bumps into an old colleague, Joy, on the street. Joy calls Maud “Katie” and is surprised that she is still nursing after “what happened,” then questions why they haven’t seen Maud out anywhere recently. Joy even gives Maud her number so that they can get together for drinks. Not only does Maud have an internal struggle that is being shown externally through light and shadow, she actually has two identities in Katie and Maud that are at complete odds with each other.
The revelation of Katie is shocking. It completely reframes the disturbing opening of the film that shows Maud, having endured, if not committed, something terrible. And while there still is no explanation of what happened, we now know who did it. It was Katie, and not Maud, who did something terrible. Katie drank, was promiscuous, and, if the opening scene is any indication, was violent, the complete opposite of what Maud appears to be. Maud was created, perhaps even “emerged”, to counteract and overcome Katie. But, despite Maud’s righteousness, Katie continues to push through, causing Maud to doubt herself. It is a constant fight for Maud to stay present and she relies on escalating forms of self-flagellation, from kneeling on kernels to burning herself to putting tacks in her shoes and walking around on them, to banish Katie and keep herself in control.
This reminder of her past does not sit well with Maud. She seems shaken by the reintroduction of Katie and clings even harder to her role as Amanda’s savior. Maud feels that she is helping Amanda down a path toward God. She has successfully ended Amanda’s relationship with a woman, Carol, who she didn’t deem worthy, all while Maud and Amanda continue to bond. When Amanda throws a party and Carol is there, Maud is clearly upset. Amanda mocks Maud in front of her friends, saying that Maud tried to “save her soul” by ending her relationship with Carol. Maud confronts Amanda, calling her “lost” and tries to leave the room, her face completely in darkness. But the partygoers stop Maud, strapping a cloth to her head to make her appear “saintly.” Amanda calls Maud her “little saint,” mocking Maud’s faith. Maud slaps Amanda, and in the moment that they stare at each other in mutual disbelief and horror, with blood running out of Amanda’s nose, Maud is fully in the light. Despite going into the darkness of her failure as Amanda’s savior, her righteousness in striking Amanda for blasphemy brought her back into the light.
But, despite that moment of righteousness, Maud is understandably fired from being Amanda’s nurse and therefore has failed to save her. And Maud is deeply questioning her God and her role in his plan. She laments that she has been nothing but faithful and still has nothing to show for it. She wanders, disillusioned, through the streets, and eventually Maud goes out as Katie to drink and have sex. She sits in the dark bar, cast in shadows. The dark side of Maud, the Katie persona, is dominating here, but cannot fully expel the lighter Maud side of herself. When she finally stumbles home, drunk and violated, she begins to convulse on the floor. Then, Maud levitates off the ground. The sides of her are dueling at an extreme level to the point of physical manifestation. And as she floats in the air, back arched, her face is finally peaceful but it is still half in shadow. Experiencing this religious levitation has reconfirmed Maud’s faith. She acts with a newfound purpose. She puts tacks in her shows and, despite screaming when she first steps on them, Maud walks down the street with a content expression on her face. Her face has almost no shadow on it, the extreme act of self-flagellation seeming to have purified her and driven the darkness almost completely away.
In the final moment that confirms Maud’s purpose, we hear God speak to her. He tells her that she has always known what to do and that if she completes this test they can “be together truly.” Maud wraps herself in a sheet, taking on the classic appearance of a saint. Even in this outfit, having had her purpose and faith affirmed, her face is cast in shadow. Maud makes her way to Amanda’s house late in the night. She watches the new nurse leave and slowly makes her way inside. As she walks down the hall toward Amanda’s room, the lights pulse again. She is alternately cast in shadow and light, showing that even in this moment, after God has spoken directly to her and set her on her path, she has not fully eliminated the dark side of herself. (third and fourth screenshot) Maud tries to bless Amanda but is rejected and mocked. She breaks down, until Amanda erupts in demonic rage, her face contorting. Maud fights her and ends up stabbing demon Amanda to death. In a shot mirroring the opening scene, Maud stands there in shadow, her face covered in blood.
The dueling shadow and light throughout Saint Maud are so prevalent, that they exist in almost every scene. Maud is constantly at odds with herself. Her past and her chosen present conflict in ways that she cannot process or move past. But, for the final five minutes of the movie, once Maud has “saved” Amanda, she is no longer in shadow. She has fulfilled her destiny and is no longer conflicted. She walks serenely, confident in her new role as a Saint. She stands in front of a crowd and is completely engulfed in the light as she lights herself on fire, basking in the praise and adoration of the people on the beach. Tears of joy stream down her face. And even when we see the briefest glimpse of Maud, screaming and burning, she remains unshadowed, unconflicted in her role as a martyr for God.
