The Mother (2003/I)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

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:

Carpenter | Drawing | Verbal Abuse | Punch In The Face | Domestic Violence

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)
• Momentum Pictures (2004) (UK) (DVD)
• Bright Angel Distribution (2004) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• CDI Films (Argentina)
• Concorde Filmverleih (Germany)
• Golden Village (2004) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• Hollywood Classic Entertainment (Czech Republic)
• Imagem Filmes (2005) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Lucky Red
• Mongrel Media (Canada) (theatrical)
• Odeon (Greece)
• Quality Films (2005) (Mexico) (theatrical)
• Sony Pictures Classics (2004) (USA)
• 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:

The first feature film funded entirely by the BBC.

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:

May: How did you become so cold?
Bobby: How did you become so hot?

Movie Connections:

Features "The Good Life" (1975)

Soundtrack:

Clint Eastwood

Michell redeems himself

It's hard to imagine a director capable of such godawful crap as 'Notting Hill' pulling off something as sensitive and as attractive as this, but well, here's the evidence and it's quite compelling. Several have alluded to TV drama, and yes, this does have a seventies Play for Today feel at times, but is always a cut above, mainly I think owing to some quite superlative acting from Anne Reid and to a fine script which shadow-boxes with cliché without ever getting one on the nose, except maybe right at the end. (I didn't like either the tracking shot of indifferent goodbyes through the hallway, nor the oh-what-a-beautiful-morning final scene: she deserved a more studied finale than that I think, after all that hard work. The slippers business was a bit OTT too, on reflection).

What I mean about avoiding cliché: well, I for one had a sinking expectation that the "mature" man May's daughter tries to set her up with would be cast in 2 dimensions as a repulsive old bore, so as to point the contrast more painfully with the attractive, virile young geezer he is unwittingly competing with. Instead, we get an unexpectedly subtle and sympathetic cameo of a lonely, clumsy, not entirely unlikeable and very human fellow, who nevertheless doesn't have much of a clue about entertaining a woman. It was around that point I started to sit up and pay more attention. Here was a script that let the actors breathe and do something interesting with fairly minor parts. Almost Mike Leigh in that respect (minus the contrived catharses that the latter inexplicably goes in for).

And of course I was, as everyone probably was, dumbfounded by what Anne Reid does with her character and with her body. She's /not/ "the repressed, dutiful housewife discovering herself for the first time", this is far too simplistic for the character we have. Again and again there are allusions to her having been a "bad housewife", not to mention that thing she does with trays, trying to look nurturing and comely and only succeeding in looking awkward. The daughter accuses her of having "sat in front of the TV all day" instead of, well, whatever her motherly duties might be presumed to have been: she has no answer. She never was a model wife and mother, at least not to herself - that's where a lot of the poignancy comes from, the sense of someone having wasted a life trying to fulfil a role she simply wasn't good at, ever.