Maudie (2017)
91%RT Audience Score: 88%
Awards & Nominations: 25 wins & 17 nominations
Maudie’s talented cast — particularly Sally Hawkins in the title role — breathe much-needed depth into a story that only skims the surface of a fascinating life and talent.
Maudie” is a heartwarming and inspiring film about the life of Canadian folk artist Maud Lewis. Sally Hawkins delivers an incredible performance as Maud, capturing both her physical limitations and her indomitable spirit. Ethan Hawke also shines as Everett, Maud’s gruff and initially unlikable husband. The film beautifully captures the simplicity and beauty of Maud’s art, and the way it brought joy to her and those around her. Overall, “Maudie” is a must-see for anyone who loves art, perseverance, and a good love story (even if it’s a bit unconventional).
Production Company(ies)
Distributor
Sony Pictures Classics
Release Type
Theatrical, Theatrical (Limited)
Filming Location(s)
the Goulds, St. John’s, Newfoundland, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
MPAA / Certificate
Rated PG-13 for some thematic content and brief sexuality.
Year of Release
2017
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby
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Aspect ratio:1.85 : 1
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Runtime:1h 55m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:Canada
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Jun 16, 2017 Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 10, 2017
Genre(s)
Biography/Romance
Keyword(s)
starring Sally Hawkins, Ethan Hawke, Kari Matchett, Gabrielle Rose, Zachary Bennett, Billy MacLellan, directed by Aisling Walsh, written by Sherry White, biography, romance, PG-13, box office gross $6.2M, reviewed by Paul Byrnes, Bob Mondello, Donald Clarke, Wendy Ide, Kevin Maher, Deborah Ross, Jason Best, David Lamble, Sally Hawkins as Maud Lewis, Ethan Hawke as Everett Lewis, produced by Bob Cooper, Susan Mullen, Mary Sexton
Worldwide gross: $9,733,932
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $11,741,420
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,916
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 1,280,417
US/Canada gross: $6,170,998
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $7,443,680
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,696
US/Canada opening weekend: $45,920
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $55,390
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,172
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): 4993020
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $6,022,761
Production budget ranking: 1,845
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $3,243,257
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): $2,475,402
ROI to date (est.): 27%
ROI ranking: 1,256
Ethan Hawke – Everett Lewis
Kari Matchett – Sandra
Gabrielle Rose – Aunt Ida
Zachary Bennett – Charles Dowley
Billy MacLellan – Frank Davis
Director(s)
Aisling Walsh
Writer(s)
Sherry White
Producer(s)
Bob Cooper, Susan Mullen, Mary Sexton
Film Festivals
Berlin, Telluride, Toronto
Awards & Nominations
25 wins & 17 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (151) | Top Critics (43) | Fresh (135) | Rotten (16)
Both writer and director set out in search of a heroine. They’re so intent on crafting a legend, they leave out the uncomfortable bits. They do her and us a disservice in that respect.
August 25, 2017 | Rating: 3/5
Paul Byrnes
Sydney Morning Herald
TOP CRITIC
Maud’s life was constricted, but her gaze was expansive. And so is her movie.
August 17, 2017
Bob Mondello
NPR
TOP CRITIC
Maudie is a sad film about poor people, but it could scarcely be more open to benevolence and quiet humanism.
August 7, 2017 | Rating: 4/5
Donald Clarke
Irish Times
TOP CRITIC
Walsh’s film feels jarringly at odds with contemporary sensibilities. A bully is a bully, no matter how cheerfully he is painted.
August 7, 2017 | Rating: 3/5
Wendy Ide
Observer (UK)
TOP CRITIC
A difficult and highly mannered performance from Sally Hawkins coupled with a repugnant and profoundly unappealing character played by Ethan Hawke sink this curious, and curiously saccharine, biopic.
August 4, 2017 | Rating: 2/5
Kevin Maher
Times (UK)
TOP CRITIC
[Maudie] fulfils all our narrative expectations and you’ll almost certainly exit the cinema happy, so long as you can leave it there.
August 3, 2017
Deborah Ross
The Spectator
TOP CRITIC
Bent over and hunched, Sally Hawkins undergoes an astonishing physical transformation to play arthritic Canadian folk artist Maud Lewis… but what’s really impressive about her performance is the spark and soul she brings to the role.
December 20, 2020 | Rating: 4/5
Jason Best
What’s On TV
A beautifully crafted bio-pic of the 20th-century Canadian folk artist Maud Lewis.
June 8, 2020
David Lamble
Bay Area Reporter
Maudie is a remarkable and utterly unique film that I still can’t believe someone actually made, but much like Maud’s paintings, someone saw a quality in her story that they recognized as worthy of attention, admiration, and beauty.
May 11, 2020
Steven Prokopy
Third Coast Review
Oscillating between moments of pain and ones of inspiring artistic expression, Maudie captures the nuance of Maud Lewis’s life and her unexpected success as an artist.
February 7, 2020
Olivia Gauthier
Hyperallergic
Hawkins and Hawke, both award-winning actors, turn in great performances, but is is Hawkins as Maude who will be hard to overlook at Oscar season this year.
October 18, 2019 | Rating: 4/5
Leslie Combemale
Cinema Siren
Sally Hawkins received a Best Actress Oscar nomination for “The Shape of Water”, but she was better in “Maudie”.
June 11, 2019 | Rating: 3.5/4
Jeff Mitchell
Phoenix Film Festival…
Plot
1930’s rural Nova Scotia. Maud Dowley, who suffers from rheumatoid arthritis, smokes heavily to deal with the pain. Because of her unusual gait from the arthritis, she is often mistaken as a stupid, incapable woman, that perception which does make her feel stupid and incapable. That view is held by her surviving family, her brother Charlie and her Aunt Ida with whom she lives. After an action by Charlie, Maud decides to seek some independence and is the only applicant for a posted job as housekeeper for brusque Everett Lewis, a poor fish seller. Despite not wanting to hire a cripple which only adds to their antagonism, Maud negotiates to get the job for room and board. Their antagonistic relationship ends up including Everett exacting beatings on Maud whenever she doesn’t do what he wants. To keep herself happy, Maud begins to paint the interior of the house with happy pictures and paint similar pictures on small cards, these folk art pictures are how she wants to see the world. Maud’s paintings come to the attention of one of Everett’s customers, Sandra, a New York socialite, who ultimately commissions Maud to paint some pictures for her if Maud won’t or can’t sell what she’s already painted. This begins Maud’s possible independence from her violent relationship with Everett, who in turn admits that he may need Maud more than she needs him. In the process, Maud is able to revisit an issue from her past which she believed had long died in a literal sense.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Sally Hawkins received a Best Actress Oscar nomination for “The Shape of Water”, but some critics argue that she was even better in “Maudie”.
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