Irish filmmaker Aisling
Walsh has taken a script from Canadian producer/writer Sherry White, recruited
Sally Hawkins, an English actress, and Ethan Hawke, an American, to spin a
biopic about a Canadian artist that many Americans might not be familiar with (she’s
been dead for 47 years). The result is
one of the best films of the year.
The film in question is Maudie,
which will be making its way to DVD and Blu-ray on Oct. 10 courtesy of Sony
Pictures Home Entertainment. The film’s
limited theatrical run generated ticket sales of $5.6 million … the ARR comes
in 179 days. This is one to be caught
on DVD … and come awards season it may get a second wind when people begin to
discover it.
For those not familiar
with Maud Lewis (nee Dowley), she was a self-taught artist who eked out a
living with her paintings and illustrated greeting cards. Much of her fame came after her passing … and
Hawkins’ script and Walsh’s film presentation do not indicate that you are
watching a biopic, but rather a heartfelt story of two very unlikely people
finding happiness.
Sally Hawkins, who was
nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her performance in Woody
Allen’s Blue Jasmine, absolutely shines as Maud (a Best Actress
nomination is certainly possible for her performance here), a plain woman,
suffering from early onset rheumatoid arthritis, who has no outward skill
set. She lives with her aunt (played by
Gabrielle Rose) after her brother disposed of the family home, leaving her
destitute.
It is the depression and
it is clear that this near crippled young woman has little in the way of a
future. By chance she answers an
advertisement from a gruff fishmonger named Everett Lewis (Ethan Hawke), who
was looking for a housekeeper (the house is so small that you wonder what that
was all about).
That’s the set up, what
follows is an odd love story (with some poetic license taken) that is set in
remote Nova Scotia — an unlikely couple, an unlikely artist, but a marvelous
film emerges from these bleak prospects.
As to bonus features,
there are deleted scenes and a pair of production featurettes — “Inside Story”
and “Director’s Look Book.”
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