Review of Maudie (2016) by Mario M — 28 Jan 2018

SUPERB acting by Sally Hawkins and Ethan Hawke...in a film where they have 95% of the limited dialogue and time on screen. I knew Hawkin only as Care Blanchett's adopted sister in Woody Allens5 "Blue Jasmine".

..and her acting job in this is so complete, so transformational that it took me some time to recognize her. Make no.mistake, this is a slow finely observed study of two s social "misfits" and how they come together and make a tough life together.

It is a true story, and unlike Hollywood films d O es not "pretty it up" or include saccharine moments...the orphanagfe-raised, emotional desert of a husband does not suddenly blossom into a sweetheart.

..Maudie, rav aged from childhood by arthritis is not miraculously cured by love or drugs. But if you appreciate films that ate honest, beautifully made (and by that, I don't mean consciously "preyy") and exceptional acting and direction, this is a gem I don't give it a "5" because it is an unsettling film-- perhaps because I am an American and used to having all the loose ends tied up and resolved in some reasonably happy way at the end.

..and this doesn't d o that -- as l7fe usually doesn't. So perhaps I should have fiv an it a 5. No doubt both actors deserve rewards and high acclaim for their work here!