Maudie (2016)
Maudie is a moving, intimate and expertly-made biopic by Irish director, Aisling Walsh, about Nova Scotian folk-painter, Maudie Lewis. The film takes place in the 1950/60's in rural Nova Scotia (that's east coast Canada) that follows the difficult life of Maudie, here incredibly portrayed by Sally Hawkins. Maudie's hardships began early on as she developed rheumatoid arthritis at a very young age, affecting her mobility and use of her hands. As a female with this kind of disability in a mid-1950's rural community, Maudie was stripped of much of her autonomy and often looked down upon by her community. However, she was resilient, constantly pushing back against her physical and social obstacles and fought to gain work as a house-maid for a local fish peddler, Everett Lewis (Ethan Hawke). As the film shows, Everett was not an easy man himself and though he and Maudie ultimately married and had a loving relationship he was also equally hard on her throughout the years. Similar to many of the great creative minds, Maudie's main outlet from her struggles was through her art, and her bright, nature-themed paintings became a hit both in her small Nova Scotian community and then outwards into the greater world (notably, then-Vice President Richard Nixon even purchased one of her paintings).
The film itself is bittersweet: it is beautifully shot and directed, and the phenomenal performances of both Hawkins and Hawke make the film worth watching on that point alone. The story, even with the later artistic success of Maudie, is still rather heart-breaking as Maudie's hardships really never ceased, right up until the end. Nevertheless, it is a story worth watching, experiencing and being inspired by. On a personal note, it is also nice to see such a high quality film come from Canada and so I highly encourage everyone to watch this special and underappreciated gem of a film about a quaint, local folk-hero.
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