Interview: Lily Knight on ‘Saint Maud’
Lily Knight only has a few minutes of screentime in Saint Maud, the directorial debut of British filmmaker Rose Glass, but her warm, thoughtful presence looms largely over the rest of the film’s proceedings, like a bright ray of sunshine amidst a cloudy, grey sky. Playing Nurse Joy, the bright, bubbly foil to the film’s more haunting and intense lead character, Maud (expertly played by Morfydd Clark), Knight turns in a memorable supporting performance as an earnest young woman offering an olive branch to the troubled Maud, who may be way in over her head at her new job as the caretaker for cancer-stricken former dancer Amanda. We recently had the opportunity to connect with Knight, who originally auditioned for the role of Maud, to discuss everything from her reaction to first reading the script to the constant delays the film was subjected to due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Can you tell us how you became involved with the project?
So initially, I actually auditioned for Maud. I read the script and I was like, ‘This is really good!’ It’s not all the time that you get scripts that you’d really love to be a part of, to be involved with in any way and thankfully, that happened in the end. I actually auditioned for Maud, Carol and Joy, and thankfully, one of them landed, which is great. I’m very lucky.
What was your reaction when you first read the script?
Initially, when I read a script, I think about the characters so while I was reading it, I thought about how lonely [Maud was], how isolated she was and how, in some way, I might be able to relate [to her] or not, trying to figure out the differences and similarities that we might share just with my instincts. I think, with the first read of any script, you should listen to your instincts. I also just thought Rose’s writing was so intimate and right to the point without it giving everything away. It creeps up on you in this really brilliant way, which I think the film does in its final cut as well. I think that’s a real credit to Rose’s writing. So I would jot down basically all of my intuitions about the characters, the way I feel when I read something and the way the characters made me feel.
This is a very dark and heavy movie. What was the atmosphere on set like?
It was very jolly! I think that’s quite often the case [with movies like Saint Maud]. When people make a comedy, everyone takes it very seriously but it was quite the opposite with this one. Everyone was so welcoming. I was on set in two different locations, but I wasn’t there that much, but it still felt so welcoming and so upbeat. I do think you sort of get a feeling on a job where you’re like, ‘This is a really good team’; everyone is working together, everyone feels supported. I just loved working with everyone and I couldn’t fault any of it. It was heaven.
What was it like working with director Rose Glass?
I think she’s so talented and lovely. It takes a lot of courage, especially with your debut [film], to not play things safe and I think it’s really, really amazing that she was able to take risks. The film is intimate, careful and brave, and she is too. We talked through everything on set. We also had rehearsals before [filming started] as well, which was great. I had an opportunity with her to break everything down, to ask questions, to figure out why people end up [like Maud] or why they might end up feeling isolated. She’s just very attentive, very clever. She’s incredibly smart and kind.
What was it like working with Morfydd Clark?
It was so nice! We actually trained at the same drama school, but she left before I arrived so I had known of her by proxy and I’d met her a couple of times. So working on a film with her was like returning to a friend even though I didn’t really know her very well. Morfydd has a real warmth about her and she’s so, so supportive. She was there every day working with the crew and she knows everyone brilliantly. You turn up for your Monday at one place, your next day at another location, so [the filming process] is sort of very hectic so it’s down to someone like her to make you feel like you belong there [on set] the whole time. She’s an expert at doing that. She’s so kind and so talented. It was really lovely and interesting watching the way that Rose and her work together, because they obviously developed this really lovely language, kind of like a shorthand of communication. It was really, really lovely to watch and learn from. Morfydd is super inspiring. I think she is going to be cataclysmically successful and I am so happy for her. I think she’s brilliant. She’s so talented.
Did you have any discussions with Rose or Morfydd about Joy and Maud’s history and what their relationship might have been like prior to the accident that happened at the beginning of the movie?
Definitely. We discussed it during rehearsals. What I loved about Rose is that she obviously had a very clear idea in her mind, but she was also open to a discussion about the ideas that I also had in my mind for Joy. I think it’s really important to have an anchor in the past in films like [Saint Maud] and to find out the real human reason why this sort of thing can happen to someone. Personally, I imagined that [Joy and Maud] weren’t very close and were in different points in their careers. They’re probably very, very tired; they’re working long hours and not being paid enough Someone who’s slightly awkward or prone to making mistakes like Maud, maybe Joy didn’t actually have that much time for her, and maybe historically, she’d been a bit callous or short [with her] even though she’s a kind and considerate person. She might have not been as compassionate [to Maud] and she maybe even could have been part of the problem but from no fault of her own. Maybe she’s lost as well. I also think that the first two scenes [she is in], one might be an example of how she can be a little bit insensitive, I suppose, and the latter is her trying to make up for it. I think that’s probably the pattern of their relationship as well, that maybe Joy snapped at Maud a couple of times and maybe then tried to make it better [but] essentially the core of Joy is that she is a compassionate, empathetic and kind person who wants to make sure that everyone is okay, hence the profession she’s in. She does feel incredibly and increasingly worried about Maud, but yeah, we discussed it endlessly.
The release date of the movie has been changed so many times for obvious reasons, but it’s finally been released in the UK a few months ago and just now in the US. What was the experience of having to wait it out like, in terms of the anticipation of having to wait for it to come out and see people how respond to it, and how does it feel to finally have it out in the world?
It’s so lovely [to finally have it out there] and it’s really exciting. I’m so glad that people get to share this lovely experience that I and everyone shared during the process of making it, but I’ve gone through waves of not knowing how to feel about the delay. Ultimately, I think I’ve come to the idea that actually, I quite liked it. It’s meant that this really great experience has just lasted longer. There are people who get a packet of sweets and then eat half and save the rest for the next day, whereas I would eat it all day one like, ‘What the hell are you saving it for the next day for?’ But actually, it’s quite clever of them; it’s quite nice to sort of have that feeling stretched out. But I also think we’ve all had so much other stuff to think about [this past year]. But overall, I’m glad [the experience] has been stretched out, to be honest. It’s been nice and it’s also made people super excited. The anticipation is there. People are like, ‘Come on, give me the film!’ I hope America ends up liking it.
Saint Maud is currently playing in limited release in theaters around the US. It will be released on Epix on February 12, 2021.