The Mother Movie Review:


You can just imagine the headline in the tabloids - “Granny sleeps with daughter’s married lover!” It’s not the kind of story you would expect to see in a BBC film, however, and thanks to a warm, compassionate script by writer Hanif Kureishi and Roger Michell’s assured direction it safely avoids ending up like an episode of Eastenders.

After Calendar Girls it seems there is no shortage of mature women getting their kit off on screen but this time it’s definitely not for charity. Anne Reid is magnificent as May a woman in her sixties who rediscovers passion after years sacrificing her own happiness for an easy life.

When her husband Toots (Peter Vaughan) dies during a trip to London to visit their children she decides to be “difficult” and moves in with her son (Steven Mackintosh) instead of returning home and surrendering to old age. She promptly starts an affair with Darren (Daniel Craig), a posh builder half her age. Trouble is he’s also sleeping with her daughter (Cathryn Bradshaw). Craig puts in a great performance but his character remains undeveloped and we are never really sure why he chooses to do what he does.

Kureishi is a writer accustomed to controversy. The screen adaptation of his novel Intimacy attracted a storm of media attention with its explicit sex scenes. In The Mother, however, the sex scenes are handled with tasteful restraint and it is the behaviour of the younger characters towards May which is truly shocking. As a study of the workings of family life when parents become unwelcome burdens in the eyes of their adult children, the film is brutally honest and grimly realistic.

The ending is decidedly bittersweet if not a little overwrought. Despite this, The Mother is an intelligent and highly-engaging film that never sensationalises its subject matter and is completely believable.

Ann Lee

Filmmaker Roger Michell is clearly trying to get away from the monster Hollywood production values of his last two films (Notting Hill, Changing Lanes) with this artful, intimate and extremely moving drama.

It opens as May and Toots (Reid and Vaughn) travel to London to visit their two adult children. Bobby (Mackintosh) and his wife Helen (Jones) live with their two kids in a gorgeous Notting Hill home where Bobby's best friend Darren (Craig) is building an add-on conservatory. Meanwhile, daughter Paula (Bradshaw) is a free-spirited single mother who's in love--or maybe just lust--with Darren.

When Toots dies suddenly, May is set adrift, trying to rediscover who she is. After moving in with Paula, May becomes involved with the much-younger Darren as well, even after Paula sets her up with a man (Davies) her own age.

The simplicity of the story and the austere production style leaves everything in the hands of the performers, and Reid is especially amazing, taking us way beneath May's skin without any obvious cinematic stuff about grief and sexuality. Her scenes with the excellent Craig are stunningly natural and believable. The subtle, authentic performances combine to paint a fascinating portrait of family interaction.

Meanwhile, Michell directs with a slightly aloof eye, shyly lingering on neutral images or losing focus when things get too personal. These are much more than just visual flourishes; they give us insight into characters and situations, highlighting the fragile interplay between parents, children, siblings, friends and lovers. The organic rhythms of life are here--an unpredictable mix of chaos and tranquillity punctuated by every kind of emotion.

Each person's extenuating circumstances are touched upon; we can understand how they get into this messy situation--for all their beautiful surfaces, people are confused, lonely, lost.

And while the film is weakened by an overwrought, melodramatic climax, it's still a beautifully observed slice of life that teaches us about ourselves without ever being preachy.

Rich Cline

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