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The Mother [2003]
![The Mother [2003]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51HKFDD72DL._SL160_.jpg)
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Editorial
Amazon.co.uk Review
The movies have their share of gray-haired men romancing young women, but the spectacle of a sexual relationship between an old woman and a young man is still exotic enough for The Mother to startle audiences. Newly widowed Anne Reid, sixtyish, finds herself disenchanted with her indifferent children, and drawn to a studly handyman (Daniel Craig, from Sylvia). The observant directorial hand of Roger Michell guides them through some brutally frank sex scenes, without ignoring the psychological mess that underlies it all. It comes as no surprise that this scenario springs from the mind of Hanif Kureishi, who's been poking at British propriety since My Beautiful Laundrette. The film offers no characters to actually like, which makes it a bitter course to navigate. But Anne Reid's gutsy performance, which carries zero trace of glamour, is certainly a bold venture that asks no pity. --Robert Horton
a masterpiece
Review date: 2008-09-12 Rating: 10 out of 10
i think one of the frustrations of reading reviews of this film, is the focus on the sexual.
whereas, what i felt spoke the brilliance of the film was the familial relations. the undervalued emotionally frustrated youngest daughter spoke volumes of the mother's failure to love, essentially.
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Reviews
so much better that i thought
Review date: 2008-01-20 Rating: 8 out of 10
i was so surprised and happy with this film,i loved the idea of a old lady embarking on an affair with a young, handsome man who is also in love with the lady's daughter, the story was very moving and felt very eral, and the cast was chosen perfectly.
What a load of old toss!!!
Review date: 2007-09-17 Rating: 2 out of 10
....and I'm not talking about the content of the film. I got this DVD as I thought it looked interesting and a bit different but it was dreadful. The plus points are: Anne Reid.........er, that's it. Everything else in this film was utter dross, Daniel Craig (is he the Hugh Grant of the noughties? this isn't a compliment) does his usual sensitive but smouldering bit which covers up the fact he is a sh*te actor. The characters & plot are laughably bad, when Dad dies on a visit to London, he is never mentioned again and his wife stays on in London - don't the middle classes bury their dead?. It's a film that thinks it's a lot more thought provoking than it is and a smugness hangs over the whole thing.
If you want a British film that tackles a diffcult subject well, with real characters try Gary Oldman's 'Nil By Mouth' not this cack.
A challenge to cultural misperceptions of age
Review date: 2007-09-16 Rating: 8 out of 10
This one is for all those with the misperception that women over a certain age simply enjoy a nice warm cup of cocoa before bed. Anne Reid's 'mother' strikes up an odd relationship with a handy man half her age and what ensues is a very strange movie about, ehem, a mother having sex! Surely a moral and cultural paradox! Of course my tongue is placed firmly in cheek and why the premise of this movie should be strange I do not know. I would hazard a guess that it has something to do with our culture that tends to deem anyone over the age of 25 past it and not deserving of love. So full credit goes to the makers of this film that challenges our cultural perceptions of age, sexuality and gender. Of course the movie is not just about busting 'taboos', it explores mother/daughter relationships, grief, loneliness and how we perceive mothers in general. We should support British film making like this because there will certainly be no Hollywood equivalent taking on such brave subject matter.
A surprise gem
Review date: 2007-02-18 Rating: 8 out of 10
I came across this film by accident and really liked it. It's such an interesting story (how wonderful at last to see an older woman being portrayed as a sexual being and having sex with a younger guy!) The acting from the two leads was amazing and the scenes totally believable. The film also said a lot about the fragmentation of modern families and how lonely a place the family unit can actually be. As previous reviewers have said, there are few characters to actually like in this film but whilst the two main leads play characters that are rounded and believable (if not always likeable), I found the characters of the children strangely unsatisfying and this is why I have given it four stars rather than five. The film makes it clear that May was not always an easy mother but I still found her children's hostility indifference to her slightly baffling - the two children came across as slightly two dimensional characters. However, the main focus of the film was on the relationship between Darren and May and I thought this was portrayed brilliantly. Overall, a highly recommended film.
Product Details/Specifications
Actor(s):
Daniel Craig
Peter Vaughan
Steven Mackintosh
Cathryn Bradshaw
Anne Reid
Creators:
Anne Reid (Primary Contributor)
Daniel Craig (Primary Contributor)
Recording label: Momentum Pictures
Manufacturer: Momentum Pictures
EAN: 5060049140926
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: PAL,
Release date: 2004-05-24
Number of discs: 1
Audience rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
Region code: 2
Running time: 107 minutes
Theatrical release date: 2003
Language: English (Original Language)