Paul Evans
The Mother is a very intelligent drama, one that would guarantee to have you talking, a taboo topic that isn't often visited. The question, how should someone when they're in advanced years, retired and had families behave? Should they put their slippers on and await the inevitable Nursing Home, or should they go wild, grabbing opportunities as they arise.The story is a complex one, but intelligent and thought provoking. The main thing i'm sure many will ask is, is May a good person or not? Do her feelings for Darren come from a good place, come from grief, or has a hidden passion burned away her entire life? I felt bad for Paula, a daughter slightly messed up, who's set to find out the worst possible news about the love of her life.Superb performances, Anne Reid is phenomenal as May, she totally steals the show with a powerhouse performance, where she displays passion and total apathy. Daniel Craig is also superb, you can totally believe in May falling for his character, handsome, care free, but all is not as it seems.Brilliant, and a reminder of how good the quality of film making is from The BBC, I ask though, why has this style of show vanished from our screens?Quality viewing, 9/10
orchidbauDOTcom
This is a great movie if you hate people.... I loved it. This well crafted piece succeeds in delivering a fairly original film that is utterly compelling and completely engrossing... and, yet, there isn't a character in this film that is remotely likable. I mean, the family portrayed in this film put the "func" in "dysfunctional." Actually, they put the "dysfunctional" in "dysfunctional." Imagine your recently widowed, senior citizen mother, who you can't stand, coming to stay with you.... and then carries on a very May-December romance with the builder working on your home! Well, not really a romance per se... no more like doing the big-time nasty-nasty whenever the opportunity arises. Oh yeah - and the builder boinking Mom is also boinking her thoroughly unpleasant daughter. Just when you think it couldn't get much more insane, the bitter, sour children find out about Mother's little (ahem!) affair via her sketchbook, which Mommy has been filling in with very crude, very explicit drawings of her builder and herself in various illicit sex acts - including one really crude piece boldly portraying her performing oral sex on the brawny builder. And you thought your mother was bad! Anne Reid, who portrays the mother, deserved some kind of award... when do you see a woman over 50 on screen, naked and engaging in very (I mean VERY) explicit sex scenes. I say good for her. If you went by mainstream media you'd never know that anyone over 50 ever has sex... unless it's in the context of a Viagra ad that reduces older people having sex as something humorous - something to be giggled at. Trust me, when you see Mother and young builder get it on, nobody will giggle.
The_Triad
The Mother is a solid and well made film that tackles a taboo subject in a relationship movie context. It revolves around its title character, a grandmother, getting involved in her daughters affairs (well, that's one way of putting it.) and the fall out of her actions.To me, these sorts of films (of the indie melodrama kind) are probably best used as a showcase for the talent involved, a vehicle for actors and directors to make an interesting film, a film that would receive high critical praise, but not a film that people would fall in love with so much as to watch on a regular basis. To that end, The Mother succeeds very well, the acting and its partly controversial subject matter making it stand out from the competition.Though I found it compelling viewing, especially from an acting standpoint, I would have liked a better ending to lift the film to an even higher level, but taken as it is, if you want a slow burning, well acted, family drama, this will do rather nicely.
Justin Huang
As I watched The Mother, I could not help but think how much my own mother would enjoy this film, perhaps as much as I myself was not enjoying it. The film is unarguably artfully shot, with wonderful use of reflections and distorted images. Yet the story failed to draw me in; I found it impossible to relate with this elderly woman who is scared of becoming old, being a young male. Nevertheless, as a director, Michell still managed to address those of his audience with similar situations as me. I was still able to feel May's quiet anguish over her realization of her frail mortality, which is accentuated through her husband's death, her grownup children, and her affair with Darren. May's tryst with Darren does break social taboos, and as an audience member, I honestly cannot say that I was comfortable with the image of an old woman having graphic sex with a much younger man. But I also could not blame May for her decision, as if to condemn her for being old, and thus unable to take pleasure in activities that are supposedly only for younger people. My heart particularly went out to May in that scene when she allows Bruce to practically rape her; the scene was hard to watch and had a dirty feel to it, and when I realized that it represented her reluctant acceptance of her age, I felt a compassion for her. Nonetheless, I still feel that Michell never truly conveys his message. May's horrendously selfish daughter tells her how easy a life she had, and from what I could gather from the film, I had to reluctantly agree. Therefore May's dilemma lacks the emotional punch it deserves, but Michell's film still serves as a poignant tribute to the realization of mortality.
AD
