MAUDIE an Artsy Biopic on Canadian Folk Art Painter Maude Lewis with Sally Hawkins and Ethan Hawke

MAUDIE directed by Aisling Walsh (b Ireland) is a gorgeous looking biopic film about folk painter Maude Lewis (b Canada 1903-1970).  Maude (Golden Globe Winner Sally Hawkins) became a bit of a celebrity for her cheery, folk art paintings.  Her simplistic paintings were purchased internationally.  Richard Nixon purchased one her paintings.  However, her life was not a bed of roses.  Born with rheumatoid arthritis in a small Nova Scotia town, she was a social outcast with few friends & options.  However, she was an irrepressible spirit who saw the beauty in nature & the world.  She was also pragmatic & self-reliant.  When her louse of a brother sold their family home leaving her nothing she found herself a job with Everett Lewis (4 time Oscar nominee Ethan Hawke) a curmudgeonly farmer & fishmonger.   The film's 2 strong leads are able to give a colorful palette to a limited & predictable script.  Everett is harsh & belligerent and doesn't want to offer Maude the job he posted for a housekeeper.  Maude proves she has the mettle to deal with Everett's obdurate & rough ways and stays on as his housekeeper, becoming his wife & proving herself invaluable & resourceful.  She also has an artistic bent for painting.  The movie has its tender moments, "Bittersweet & strange, finding you can change."  Nonetheless, moments overall felt like watching paint dry.  Despite such wonderful performances and scenic beauty the movie is a sleeper.