Have you ever watched a movie…and then when it was over, you just sat there thinking and re-thinking the story you just saw unfold before you?
That was what happened to the Captain and me when we went to the theater to watch the true story of Maudie!
I was completely mesmerized by the character of Maud.
She was perhaps the most amazing woman, who refused to let her childhood affliction take away her heart.
For the story line:
….it is about Maud Dawley, who was born in 1903 in Nova Scotia. She suffered from what would now be diagnosed as juvenile arthritis, and her quiet life with partner Everett Lewis.
Maud is played brilliantly by Sally Hawkins and her husband is played by Ethan Hawke.
This lady had a mind as sharp as a tack, and a quiet sense of humor that amused herself as much as it amused those she came in contact with. There is irony there.
As an adult, her condition worsened and she walked with a painful limp; nonetheless, she loved to paint folk art pictures of flowers, trees, and animals.
She was in her 30’s when she met a grouchy bachelor living in a one room farmhouse on a lonely country road.
He had placed an ad for a housekeeper…although one would wonder how he could not keep the house tidy himself because it was so small.
They had a quiet life together, literally…except for his sudden outbursts of anger, which Maud managed to defuse (in her own way) and she eventually became an internationally acclaimed folk artist.
She painted anything she could get her hands on, including the walls and windows of her home.
By the way, they lived in that small house her whole life and it is now a permanent exhibit in the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia.
One can not help but love Maud Lewis and I loved that the director of the movie shows a small glimpse of the real Maud at the end of the movie.
She was a beautiful, loving soul determined to find beauty and goodness in a world that could be very unkind.
I recommend this movie, but be sure to bring your tissues as her gentle spirit will move you to tears, at least it did me.
Have a great day!
Please comment, I'd love to hear from you.