| Family drama is never quite as honest, disturbing, provocative or funny as it is when Hanif Kureishi puts it into words.
This assertion holds true for The Mother, a black comedy based on a typically well-observed screenplay by Kureishi, in which a middle-class family is eviscerated by long-held resentments that surface after the parents come to visit their grown children in the city. Initially, the film seems content to deal with the sensitive relations between people who can’t help but misunderstand one another despite their best intentions. But Kureishi, always looking for a way to shed some light on uncomfortable truths about contemporary society, pushes this tale of familial strife right out into the realm of the taboo.
It helps that the performances of all concerned are completely believable, and that director Roger Michell (Notting Hill, Changing Lanes) doesn’t allow any one character to be more likable than the others. That’s not to say every character is unlikable, either, just that they’re all flawed in their own unique ways. To Michell’s credit, he brings Kureishi’s viciously funny script to life without either softening its blows or rendering any character entirely unsympathetically.
The Mother is particularly insightful when it comes to revealing the truth about the tensions in mother-daughter relationships. Spite and resentment lead to pathos, which in turn leads to a shocking rivalry, a disturbing exaggeration of the bitter enmities that can tear families apart. When a May-December romance serves only to exacerbate the spite-fuelled tensions between this mother and her daughter, the film really lays the boots to the idea of familial forgiveness, no matter how many years have passed.
As you may have noticed, I’ve intentionally gone out of my way to avoid revealing plot details in this review – that’s because the story is as surprising and unconventional as one would expect from something written by Kureishi, and I don’t want to spoil it. Suffice to say that The Mother’s understated exploration of grief, aging, romance and, most of all, the raw dynamics of need make it one of the more memorable films you’re likely to see this year. |
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