It’s a love story in which neither of the characters ever utters the sacred three words. It’s a story that defines happiness is an outcome of doing something that we love. In one scene, Maudie says “I’m never happier than when I have a brush in front of me.” There is a pain, smile, and life in the movie and indeed, living the life as it comes is also fun in a way. In a scene, Maudie apologizes to a chicken she’s about to kill in order to make stew and that is effortless and natural. Sally Hawkins seems to have given her soul to Maudie and never did I doubt if she was really having an arthritic problem.
I got to know that Maudie really existed only after I viewed the film and I was in tears by then. Yes, it's a film for which I will thank my wife Siri for pushing me to watch the film and also Amazon Prime for making this available on its platform. Perhaps, watching the film without watching the trailer or reading anything about the film, really helped. I had an open mind and I embraced the film with open arms.
Ethan Hawke gave a terrific performance too and although this film is all about Sally Hawkins, it's Ethan whose subdued performance elevated Hawkins. Ethan Hawke never tried to shrug off the rough side of his character and can be easily disliked for his uncouth behavior. He submitted himself to the role of Everett Lewis and gave one of the finest performances ever. I loved Hawke since I saw 'Before Sunrise' and I love him even more now.
The best aspects apart from writing and direction are editing, yes although the film feels moves at a slow pace, it gave me time to breathe, embrace and feel the emotion and that's a rarity in the films nowadays. The next best aspect is the music by Michael Timmins, it just holds on the notes and gives a nice period feel and also resonates the emotions of the characters in a tender way. But the best of all is the cinematography by Guy Godfree. He made the whole film look like a series of paintings that are beautiful and full of life. The pulling of a handcart never looked more elegant and beautiful.
Thanks to Aisling Walsh for helming this film and keeping it to the point and subtle. There is not even a single loud moment, everything is calm and serene and happens at its pace. Nothing feels gimmicky or manipulated and that's the biggest selling point of the film.
It's one of the rare 5/5 films for me and indeed one of the touching films I saw this year.
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