Maud (Morfydd Clark) is a nurse who has recently discovered God and moved into private palliative care. When she is assigned to the care of ex dancer Amanda (Jennifer Ehle) who has stage IV lymphoma cancer she starts to believe it is her calling to save her patients soul. 

Saint Maud is a difficult film to categorise. It is probably best described as a psychological horror film where the scares do not come from jumps, gore or special effects, but from a slowly building intensity of what belief can push a person to do. 

Maud is in the process of having a breakdown. Trauma she experienced as a new nurse in the local hospital is hinted at but not fully explained. We are made aware that she was struggling and is newly converted to her religious beliefs which seem to be a means to find purpose in her life. Her devotion to God seems to revolve around using pain to focus your mind. At one point she says “don’t waste your pain” and commits inventive acts of self flagellation in an effort to live by her mantra. When she meets Amanda her zealot like behaviour increases exponentially as she believes her purpose is clear. The question posed of course is whether Maud is divine or losing her mind. 

The two lead actresses give exceptional performances. Clark’s Maud appears fragile but driven whilst Ehle’s Amanda sees her as a new toy to keep her occupied in her last days. 

Writer/director Rose Glass has succeeded in creating an astonishing film that builds inextricably to some unforgettable closing scenes.