Maudie
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.
The film earned $6.2M at the global box office.
25 wins & 17 nominations
Plot Structure
Story beats plotted across runtime
Narrative Arc
Emotional journey through the story's key moments
Story Circle
Blueprint 15-beat structure
Arcplot Score Breakdown
Weighted: Precision (70%) + Arc (15%) + Theme (15%)
Maudie (2016) showcases deliberately positioned narrative design, characteristic of Aisling Walsh's storytelling approach. This structural analysis examines how the film's 15-point plot structure maps to proven narrative frameworks across 1 hour and 55 minutes. With an Arcplot score of 6.2, the film takes an unconventional approach to traditional narrative frameworks.
Structural Analysis
The Status Quo at 2 minutes (1% through the runtime) establishes Maud lives with her aunt Ida, marginalized due to her arthritis and treated as a burden. She paints flowers on cards in her small room, dreaming of more.. Of particular interest, this early placement immediately immerses viewers in the story world.
The inciting incident occurs at 14 minutes when Maud sees Everett's advertisement for a live-in housekeeper. Desperate to escape Ida's control, she decides to apply despite her physical limitations and Everett's harsh reputation.. At 12% through the film, this Disruption aligns precisely with traditional story structure. This beat shifts the emotional landscape, launching the protagonist into the central conflict.
The First Threshold at 29 minutes marks the transition into Act II, occurring at 25% of the runtime. This indicates the protagonist's commitment to Maud and Everett marry in a pragmatic ceremony. Maud actively chooses this unconventional partnership, committing to building a life together despite its challenges., moving from reaction to action.
At 58 minutes, the Midpoint arrives at 50% of the runtime—precisely centered, creating perfect narrative symmetry. Of particular interest, this crucial beat Maud's art gains significant recognition. A television interview brings her work to a wider audience. Success seems within reach, but it also exposes the fragility of her relationship with Everett., fundamentally raising what's at risk. The emotional intensity shifts, dividing the narrative into clear before-and-after phases.
The Collapse moment at 86 minutes (75% through) represents the emotional nadir. Here, The truth about Maud's lost daughter devastates her. Everett learns of this hidden grief. Their relationship reaches its lowest point as past trauma and present pain collide., reveals the protagonist at their lowest point. This beat's placement in the final quarter sets up the climactic reversal.
The Second Threshold at 92 minutes initiates the final act resolution at 80% of the runtime. Everett chooses to stay and comfort Maud. In his fumbling way, he shows genuine love. Maud accepts that her art and their imperfect love are enough, choosing presence over past loss., demonstrating the transformation achieved throughout the journey.
Emotional Journey
Maudie's emotional architecture traces a deliberate progression across 15 carefully calibrated beats.
Narrative Framework
This structural analysis employs proven narrative structure principles that track dramatic progression. By mapping Maudie against these established plot points, we can identify how Aisling Walsh utilizes or subverts traditional narrative conventions. The plot point approach reveals not only adherence to structural principles but also creative choices that distinguish Maudie within the biography genre.
Comparative Analysis
Additional biography films include Lords of Dogtown, Ip Man 2 and A Complete Unknown.
Plot Points by Act
Act I
SetupStatus Quo
Maud lives with her aunt Ida, marginalized due to her arthritis and treated as a burden. She paints flowers on cards in her small room, dreaming of more.
Theme
Ida dismissively tells Maud that life is about accepting your place and limitations, foreshadowing Maud's journey to reject this narrow view.
Worldbuilding
Introduction to Maud's constrained life in rural Nova Scotia, her strained relationship with Ida, her physical challenges, and the conservative social world of the 1930s that excludes her.
Disruption
Maud sees Everett's advertisement for a live-in housekeeper. Desperate to escape Ida's control, she decides to apply despite her physical limitations and Everett's harsh reputation.
Resistance
Maud moves into Everett's tiny shack. They negotiate their difficult cohabitation. Everett is abusive and controlling, but Maud persists, finding small ways to assert herself through her painting.
Act II
ConfrontationFirst Threshold
Maud and Everett marry in a pragmatic ceremony. Maud actively chooses this unconventional partnership, committing to building a life together despite its challenges.
Mirror World
Sandra, a summer visitor from New York, discovers Maud's paintings and is enchanted. This relationship introduces the possibility of recognition and value beyond Everett's harsh world.
Premise
Maud begins selling her paintings, transforming their tiny home into a colorful gallery. Her art brings joy and income. The marriage slowly softens as Everett learns to appreciate her gifts.
Midpoint
Maud's art gains significant recognition. A television interview brings her work to a wider audience. Success seems within reach, but it also exposes the fragility of her relationship with Everett.
Opposition
Everett struggles with Maud's growing fame and his own inadequacy. Their conflicts intensify. Maud's brother Charles returns, revealing the painful secret about her daughter given up for adoption.
Collapse
The truth about Maud's lost daughter devastates her. Everett learns of this hidden grief. Their relationship reaches its lowest point as past trauma and present pain collide.
Crisis
Maud and Everett sit in silent suffering. Both must decide whether love and partnership can survive such profound pain and whether they can truly accept each other's broken pieces.
Act III
ResolutionSecond Threshold
Everett chooses to stay and comfort Maud. In his fumbling way, he shows genuine love. Maud accepts that her art and their imperfect love are enough, choosing presence over past loss.
Synthesis
Maud and Everett's final years together. Her health declines but her painting continues. Their love, hard-won and imperfect, endures. She creates beauty until the end.
Transformation
The painted house stands as a testament to Maud's transformed life. From marginalized and dismissed to beloved artist and partner, her art and love proved her aunt wrong about accepting limitations.