I came home from this movie, tears still streaming down my face, declaring it the best film I've ever seen. My mother goes, "why is it that whenever you watch something about old women that no one's ever heard of, you say it's the best movie ever?" And I feel like that pretty much sums up my taste. I get that this movie is imperfect, and I could've done without the focus on Everett, but Maud's story is divine and worthy of a successful feature. Women are drawn to other women's stories - stories that have been forgotten, gone untold, or never heard of at all. Rather than repetitive stories of hegemonic masculinity (men in business suits saving the day…

I'm going to say it right off the bat: while Maudie was ultimately beautiful, watching it was still a sad experience. My biggest issue was the nature of Maud and Everett's relationship... It felt really uncomfortable watching how ridiculously abusive and disrespectful he was with her. I know that was pretty much their situation in real life too, but the difference is that the film eventually expects us to be okay with it.  

It's a complicated subject, because arguably they are both outcasts; they just respond to their struggles in very different ways. While not affected by a physical disability, Everett is still obviously troubled, but it doesn't feel like it should justify his behaviour. On the other hand,…

What a wonderfully quaint, hidden gem this film is. I knew absolutely nothing about this film or the people in the biopic; in fact, I was close to skipping past this as I was flicking through VOD. Thankfully, the blurb caught my eye as the film centres around an artist who suffers from Rheumatoid Arthritis (especially in her hands), a condition that's plagued me for nearly twelve years. And after 2,251 films that I've watched, I can't recall a single film or character that touches upon this subject matter. So naturally, I was really curious to see what this film was about.

"Maudie" tells the life story of Maud Dowley (Sally Hawkins), a folk artist living with arthritis in the…

This was exhausting to watch. I think it was, on some level, meant to be a story of resilience and art in the face of a lifetime of pain and abuse--but it fell far short of this point.

If I came away with any sense of the resilience and beauty of Maude Lewis and her art--it was because of Sally Hawkins' empathetic performance (Hawkins is quietly one of the great actresses working today, and someone I have followed for ten years now).

Otherwise, it was just a depiction of the abuse and injustice that so many women with disabilities are subjected to. It hurt to watch, yet somehow, they also managed to prettify/simplify Lewis' actual abilities--to make her seem obviously…