The Mother - Film Review

I do like it when I come across a film I have never seen before or heard of and ‘The Mother] 2003 is one of those films. It stars Mr Bond himself Daniel Craig so I would have thought I would have heard about it from somewhere.

It is a fierce, shockingly intelligent film from the pen of gifted British writer Hanif Kureishi. He wrote "My Beautiful Laundrette", a brilliant piece of work.

The film is about people whose lives do not add up to much. The only character on screen who is alive is the mother of the title yet she feels dead inside until a rough handyman shows her some affection and awakens her to the joys of sex.

May's life as a suburban wife was probably boring. Obviously, her sexual life was next to nothing. We get to know she has had a short extra marital affair, then nothing at all. When May loses her husband she cannot go back home, so instead, she becomes a live in nanny for her grandson at her daughter's home. It is in this setting that May begins lusting after young and hunky Darren, her daughter's occasional lover.

Darren awakes in May a passion she has not ever known. May responds by transforming herself in front of our eyes. May, who at the beginning of the film is dowdy, suddenly starts dressing up, becoming an interesting and attractive woman. She ends up falling heads over heels with the young man that keeps her satisfied with a passion she never felt before.

Anne Reid and Daniel Craig

Her own chance of a normal relationship with Bruce, a widower, ends up frustratingly for May, who realizes how great her sex is with Darren. The younger man, we figure, is only into this affair to satisfy himself and for a possibility of extorting money from May. Finally, the daughter, Helen discovers what Mum has been doing behind her back when she discovers the erotic paintings her mother has made.

The film is a triumph for the director. In Anne Reid, is extraordinary actress who brings so much to the role of May. Also amazing is Daniel Craig. He knows how Darren will react to the situation. Anna Wilson Jones as Helen is also vital to the story as she is the one that has to confront the mother about what has been going on behind her back. Oliver Ford Davies plays a small part as Bruce the older man in Helen's class and is quite effective.

CAST

Anne Reid – May, mother to Bobby and Paula, widow of Toots
Daniel Craig – Darren, Bobby's best friend and Paula's lover, a handyman
Steven Mackintosh – Bobby, son of Toots and May, and brother to Paula
Cathryn Bradshaw – Paula, daughter of Toots and May, and sister to Bobby
Anna Wilson-Jones – Helen, Bobby's estranged wife