MAUDIE – In Cinemas NOW – From Frida to Mr. Turner to Maudie: The Diverse Stories of Behing the Most Famous Artists on Film

Based on a true story, MAUDIE, set in mid-century Nova Scotia, is directed by Aisling Walsh (TV’s Fingersmith) and stars Oscar nominees, Sally Hawkins (Paddington, Happy-Go-Lucky) and Ethan Hawke (Boyhood, Before Midnight).

The film charts the unlikely romance between Maud Lewis (Hawkins), an increasingly popular folk artist, and the curmudgeonly reclusive fish peddler, Everett (Hawke).

Bright-eyed and intelligent, though crippled by arthritis, Maud yearns to be independent and to live away from her cold and oppressive family. She finds an escape when she answers Everett’s ad for a housekeeper.

To Everett’s consternation, Maud turns out to be terrible at housework, preoccupied as she is with painting every corner of his tiny shack with flowers, birds and butterflies. As her art blossoms into a burgeoning career, so too it brings Maud and Everett closer together in ways they never imagined.

To celebrate the release of Maudie, we’ve taken a look at some of our favourite films about artists. These movies tell the diverse stories behind some of the most famous artists, and some you may not know. We get to see a showcase of great art, while getting a look at the lives that crafted it...

Frida
This film depicts the private and professional life of Mexican Painter, Frida Kahlo. The film recounts the trolley bus accident she was involved in when she was impaled by a metal pole, after which, During her recovery, her Father introduces her to the painting world. It looks at the events in her life that ultimately made her into the artist she is remembered for. This film focuses on how Frida got her start and why she is pinned as an outsider.

Caravaggio
This is a film from the 1980s about painter Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, recounting both his private and professional life. Made in 1986, the movie looks back on his life as a teenage street ruffian who started painting from a very young age. It gives us more insight into Caravaggio’s harsh childhood and how he incorporated that into his art. He is often depicted as a vulgar and entitled artist, and the movie addresses his being cast out in some detail.

Pollock
This film is about the life story of painter Jackson Pollock. It was adapted from the book Jackson Pollock: An American Saga that was written about the artist. The film follows the journey of his discovery of art and drip paintings, and how his legacy lives on. Pollock is portrayed in the film as often drunk, and it doesn’t hide the fact that he is diagnosed as clinically neurotic. His alcoholism strained the majority of relationships he had with family and friends, isolating him from the outside world and himself. 

Mr. Turner
Mr. Turner is a film about the last 25 years of painter J.M.W. Turner’s life. It follows the journey of the landscape painter’s life after the death of his father. Particular events lead him to live incognito in Chelsea where he would live until he died. Mike Leigh’s film captures the gruff ill-mannered man behind some of Britain’s most loved art.

Maudie
Maudie is about the life of Maud Lewis, a Canadian Folk artist who spent the majority of her life confined to a secluded and tiny house in Nova Scotia. The film follows the journey of the arthritic woman as she painted every available surface of the house and lived out the rest of her life doing what she loved with her husband Everett. Maudie is the perfect representation of an outsider artist, as she spends most of her life being ostracized by both her family and the surrounding community. Maud was different from others, but that didn't mean she wasn’t talented and shouldn’t be praised for her work.

Maudie Film Page | Maudie Review

MAUDIE IS IN CINEMAS NOW