This much-lauded festival favourite is a strong debut for director Glass. It has an effectively unsettling opening, and its interesting and thoughtful choices over use of camera and sound/music are noticeable. The increasingly obsessive devout belief and overtly-physical divine raptures of nurse/carer Maud (played intriguingly and strongly by Morfydd Clark) as she becomes consumed with saving the soul of her cancer-stricken new charge, a fading famous choreographer (expertly handled by Jennifer Ehle), gives rise to more extreme and hallucinogenic expression on screen leading to a powerful (if not entirely unexpected) conclusion. The film does have its lulls and detours - such as the friendship with another nurse sub-plot - but when focused on the committed central character the film is strong and interesting. Saint Maud is not the great horror movie some of the press have claimed, but as a study of profound religious fervour it is well-executed in all respects and has powerful scenes to experience, especially in its grim final moments.
