The Mother (2003/I)

Director:

Roger Michell

Writer:

Hanif Kureishi (writer)

Release Date:

9 October 2003 (Germany)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

It can take a lifetime to feel alive.

Plot:

A grandmother has a passionate affair with a man half her age, who is also sleeping with her daughter.

Plot Keywords:

Topless Female Nudity | Loss Of Husband | Mother Daughter Relationship | Heart Attack | Death Of Husband

Awards:

Nominated for BAFTA Film Award. Another 1 win & 11 nominations

Cast

Anne Reid	...	May
Peter Vaughan	...	Toots
Anna Wilson-Jones	...	Helen
Daniel Craig	...	Darren
Danira Govich	...	Au Pair
Harry Michell	...	Harry
Rosie Michell	...	Rosie
Izabella Telezynska	...	Polish Cleaner
Steven Mackintosh	...	Bobby
Cathryn Bradshaw	...	Paula
Carlo Kureishi	...	Jack
Sachin Kureishi	...	Jack
Simon Mason	...	Man in Tate Gallery
Oliver Ford Davies	...	Bruce
Jonah Coombes	...	Estate Agent
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Zelda Tinska	...	Barmaid (uncredited)

Directed by
Roger Michell

Writing credits
Hanif Kureishi		(writer)

Produced by
Stephen Evans	....	executive producer
Angus Finney	....	executive producer
Kevin Loader	....	producer
Rosa Romero	....	line producer
Tracey Scoffield	....	executive producer
David M. Thompson	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Jeremy Sams

Cinematography by
Alwin H. Kuchler		(director of photography) (as Alwin Küchler)

Film Editing by
Nicolas Gaster

Casting by
Mary Selway
Fiona Weir

Production Design by
Mark Tildesley

Art Direction by
Mark Digby

Set Decoration by
Michelle Day

Costume Design by
Natalie Ward

Makeup Department
Konnie Daniel	....	makeup designer

Production Management
Alistair Hopkins	....	post-production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Paul Mason	....	third assistant director
Barrie McCulloch	....	first assistant director
Olivia Peniston-Bird	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Chris Lightburn-Jones	....	stand-by art director
Denis Schnegg	....	draughtsman
Nick Thomas	....	property master
Warren Lever	....	construction manager (uncredited)

Sound Department
Tim Alban	....	sound re-recording mixer
Orin Beaton	....	boom operator
Owen Bleasdale	....	foley recordist
Paula Boram	....	foley artist
Gianluca Buttari	....	foley editor
Danny Hambrook	....	sound recordist
Danny Hambrook	....	supervising sound editor
Stewart Henderson	....	supervising dialogue editor (as Stuart Henderson)
Melissa Lake	....	foley artist
Adam Laschinger	....	assistant sound editor
Adam Laschinger	....	sound assistant
Matthew Skelding	....	assistant sound re-recording mixer
Graeme Stoten	....	adr editor
Michele Woods	....	adr editor (as Michelle Woods)

Visual Effects by
Sally Clayton	....	digital supervisor
Tim Davies	....	senior compositor
Rob Ellis	....	digital effects compositor
Safiya Ravat	....	assistant compositor
Rod Shelton	....	digital producer
Laurent Treherne	....	technical supervisor

Camera and Electrical Department
Peter Byrne	....	focus puller: "b" camera
Ivan Kyncl	....	still photographer
Henry Landgrebe	....	clapper loader
John Law	....	rigger
Stephen Mathie	....	best boy
Luke Redgrave	....	camera operator: "b" camera
Olly Tellett	....	focus puller
Lucho Zuidema	....	grip
Thomas Townend	....	camera operator: second unit (uncredited)
Harry Wiggins	....	gaffer (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Gemma Evans	....	wardrobe assistant

Editorial Department
Erika Brüning	....	arri laser operator (as Erica Brunning)
Kim Gaster	....	associate editor
Mark Vincent	....	senior colorist
Jon Thompson	....	post-production consultant (uncredited)

Music Department
Simon Chamberlain	....	musician: piano
Alec Dankworth	....	musician: double bass
Isobel Griffiths	....	music contractor
Tom Leader	....	music engineer
Richard Paine	....	music supervisor
Ralph Salmins	....	musician: drums
Steve Parr	....	music recordist (uncredited)

Other crew
Isabel Begg	....	business affairs: BBC Films
Jonah Coombes	....	location manager
Will Davies	....	assistant: Stephen Evans, Renaissance Films
Sam Edmonds	....	floor runner
Sarah Jane Facer	....	legal services: Lee & Thompson
Jeremy Gawade	....	legal services: Lee & Thompson
Jane Hawley	....	production executive: BBC Films
Richard Juneman	....	production accountant
Stephen Kelly	....	floor runner
Steffy Marrion	....	production coordinator
Ben McAlister	....	caterer: Marquis Restaurant
Leila McAlister	....	caterer: Marquis Restaurant
Martin McGlone	....	laboratory contact
Liz Miller	....	public relations: McDonald & Rutter
Michaela Piper	....	head of marketing: Renaissance Films
Luke Redgrave	....	assistant to director
Roger Sampson	....	insurance: AON
Andrew Tapper	....	production runner
Gurdeep Ubhie	....	assistant accountant
Jane Wright	....	business affairs: BBC Films
Katie Bullock-Webster	....	assistant to producer (uncredited)
John Charles	....	software engineer: Sony DAC (uncredited)
Michael J. Harker	....	completion bond company representative (uncredited)
Sue Hills	....	script supervisor (uncredited)
Edward Randolph	....	runner (uncredited)

Thanks
Kate Buffery	....	thanks

Production Companies

• BBC Films
• Free Range Films
• Renaissance Films

Distributors

• Momentum Pictures (2003) (UK) (theatrical)
• Bright Angel Distribution (2004) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Golden Village (2004) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• Mongrel Media (Canada) (theatrical)
• Quality Films (2005) (Mexico) (theatrical)
• Sony Pictures Classics (2004) (USA) (theatrical)
• CDI Films (Argentina)
• Concorde Filmverleih (Germany)
• Hollywood Classic Entertainment (Czech Republic)
• Imagem Filmes (2005) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Lucky Red
• Momentum Pictures Home Entertainment (2004) (UK) (DVD)
• Odeon (Greece)
• Total Film Home Entertainment (2004) (Netherlands) (DVD) (VHS)
• UGC-Fox Distribution (UFD) (France)

Special Effects

• VTR (digital visual effects)

Other Companies

• AON  insurance
• ARRI Media  camera equipment provided by
• ARRI Media  film equipment
• Air-Edel Recording Studios  music recording studio
• BBC Occupational Health Centre  medical services
• British Museum  special thanks
• David Deane Associates  health and safety consulting
• Edit Hire Post Production Services  post-production facilities (as Edit Hire)
• Hot-House Music  special thanks
• IFG  completion guarantee
• Kodak  motion picture film
• Lee & Thompson  legal services
• Maquis Restaurant  catering
• McDonald and Rutter  public relations
• Soho Images  rushes telecine
• Take 2 Film  grip equipment
• Tate Gallery  special thanks (as Tate Modern)
• The London Eye  special thanks
• Tru-Cut  negative cutting
• V.F.G.  lighting equipment
• VTR  digital post-production
• Videosonics Cinema Sound  re-recording studio
• Wavevend Communications  communications equipment
• Yerbury School  thanks

MPAA:

Rated R for sexual content including graphic images of sexuality, language and brief drug use.

Runtime:

112 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Mexico:C (cinema release) | Iceland:12 | Malaysia:(Banned) | Australia:MA | Canada:14A | Czech Republic:18 | Finland:K-15 | Germany:12 | Ireland:18 | Italy:VM14 | Netherlands:12 | New Zealand:R16 | Portugal:M/16 | Singapore:R21 | Spain:18 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:R | South Korea:18

Filming Locations:

British Airways London Eye, South Bank, London, England, UK

Company:

BBC Films

Trivia:

Bobby's children are played by the children of the director.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: When Darren and Toots are discussing cricket, the reflections of crew equipment and the camera dolly mount are visible in the glass of the sunroom windows.

Quotes:

Paula: Is there anything I'm good at? What do I want to do? What do I like? Well, I'm going to find out.
May: Paula, is there anything I can do?
Paula: Ah, at last! God! Yeah! I've been thinking about it for a few days actually. I think... I think I would like to hit you. Do you understand that?
May: [matter of factly] Yes. Now?
[Paula nods affirmatively]

Movie Connections:

Features "The Good Life" (1975)

Soundtrack:

Space Oddity

Tough, Touching, Sometimes Funny Encounter With a Big Taboo

Kids - of whatever age - do not want to know about their parents' sex lives. And grown-up children are often seriously baffled and disconcerted by any evidence that aging parents possess an active libido. Lastly, many moviegoers are very uncomfortable watching a dowdy, frumpy widow who would pass unnoticed almost anywhere discover her aching capacity and need for raw passion with a handsome man half her age.

"The Mother" is a provocative look at a scarcely filmed reality - a woman who isn't ready to stay home, watch "the telly," and vegetate after her husband of nearly three decades, and a controlling, dominating chap at that, packs it in with a massive heart attack.

May (Anne Reid) and her husband have two children, each dysfunctional in his or her own way. The male son lives with a beautiful wife who may well be driving him to the Bankruptcy Court with her extravagant commercial venture. Paula (Cathryn Bradshaw), is a teacher with aspirations of succeeding as a writer. She's attractive, not pretty, and she seems to have a close relationship with mum - at first.

Back at her house after burying her husband, May determines to not stay there. Rejecting typical widowhood with its legacy of boring days and no adventure, she goes to stay with Paula who has a young son. Paula's boyfriend, Darren (Daniel Craig), is a ruggedly handsome contractor who seems to be taking an awfully long time to complete an addition to May's son's house. May is quite taken with hard-drinking, coke-sniffing Darren whose treatment of Paula ought to have alerted May that he was, for sure, a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Cads.

What follows is a torrid affair between Darren and the besotted and now bubblingly alive (dare I say reborn?) widow. The love scenes are graphic but take second place to amateur artist May's pen and ink sketches of their trysts which then play a role in the enfolding drama (or debacle, take your pick).

The theater in Manhattan was packed for today's early afternoon showing with well over half the audience in the range of May's age. That some were shocked or disturbed to see her disporting herself with erotic abandon in the arms of a much younger man is an understatement.

This blindingly honest look at an older woman's awakened passion after decades of dutifully obeying her husband's desire that she stay at home and raise kids (she also mentions he didn't like her to have friends-what a guy) surfaces a number of issues. While May's dalliance with Darren doesn't constitute incest, there are real psychological dimensions, and issues, with a mother bedding her daughter's lover. And Paula isn't made of the stoutest stuff to begin with. The affair, once disclosed, allows the peeling open of the mother-daughter relationship which, from Paula's viewpoint, left something to be desired. Ms. Bradshaw is excellent in the role of a daughter who wants her mother's support as well as her love-she hasn't been dealt a terrible hand by life but it isn't a bed of roses either.

May is strong in her resolve to both acknowledge her sexuality and expect, indeed demand, a future of happiness. But she is also inescapably vulnerable. She's fishing in uncharted emotional waters. Who controls her relationship with Darren and why are difficult issues for her to understand, much less resolve. In her sixties, she's still a work in progress.

"Something's Gotta Give" recently showcased mature sexuality but in an amusingly antiseptic way assuring no viewer would be discomfited. After all it's Jack Nicholson and the always beautiful Diane Keaton cavorting in the world of the rich. And to insure that no serious psycho-social issues were explored, Keaton's young girlfriend, Amanda Peet, daughter of Keaton, not only blesses the match but insures that the audience knows she and her old(er) would-be lover never hopped into the sack.

No easy out here. Anne Reid's inspired performance forces discomfort on some while drawing respect from others. Her naked body bursts with sexuality for some and appears absurd as an object of physical attraction to others (the comments of audience members leaving today reflected all these views).

Kudos to director Roger Michell for tackling a fascinating story with verve and empathy.

9/10.