A One Mann’s Movies review of “Mothering Sunday” (2021).
Bob the Movie Man Rating:
The title “Mothering Sunday” might suggest that this would be a good one to take your ol’ mum to see as ‘a nice treat’. Which indeed you might like to do, as long as you set the expectations first! For this is a beautifully crafted, if flawed, story of life after the First World War. A movie that has less focus on those killed in battle and more on those left behind.
Plot Summary:
It’s Mother’s Day in 1924 in the UK, and even though six years have passed since the guns fell silent, the impact of the Great War is still being felt. No more so than in the upper-class households of the shires, where swathes of the young aristocracy never came home. So it is that three families, the Sheringhams, the Hobdays and the Nivens , all having suffered terrible losses, meet for a picnic lunch on the banks of the Thames at Henley.
This gives orphaned housemaid, and wannabe author, Jane Fairchild (Odessa Young) the day off. Which she intends to enjoy in her own intimate way, with the son of one of the party Paul Sheringham (Josh O’Connor). But this could be one of the last trysts between the lovers since Paul is shortly to marry Emma Hobday (Emma D’Arcy).
Certification:
Talent:
Starring: Odessa Young, Josh O’Connor, Olivia Colman, Colin Firth, Emma D’Arcy.
Directed by: Eva Husson.
Written by: Alice Birch (from the novel by Graham Swift).
“Mothering Sunday” Review:
Positives:
- This movie looks stunning (cinematography by Jamie Ramsay), from the opening close-up shots of Odessa Young, through bucolic bike-riding in England’s leafy lanes to the luscious love-making scenes. All perfectly staged and beautifully lit. You could take many of the stills from this movie and grace the walls of an art exhibition with them.
- Where has Odessa Young come from? The Sydney-born actress is just fabulous here, commanding a real presence for the camera. It’s a brave performance too with sex and extensive full-frontal nudity. This includes a naked wander through the old house that might feel exploitative if the writer or director had been a man. (The ladies also get full-frontal views of Josh O’Connor which adds balance to the film. This is, frankly, so often lacking in films of this type).
- The rest of the acting from the ensemble cast is also top-notch. Colin Firth is just squirm-inducingly awful (in a great way) as Mr Niven, always tiptoeing around the tension in a very English way with platitudes about the weather. Olivia Colman is also magnificent: when is she not? I saw one review saying that she “dialled in her performance” which I couldn’t disagree with more. She’s a living portrait of grief and anger. “You’re so lucky”, she says to Jane at one point, “to be so comprehensively bereaved at birth”. The fact that she does virtually nothing with her face until a single dramatic explosion is the epitome of perfect acting, where ‘less is more’.
- I liked the way that the film properly reflected the social damage of the war. We’ve been here before, with episodes of “Downton Abbey” for example, but the fact that this is set so many years after the conflict but that it was still so invasive gave me room for much thought.
- Complementing a strong female team behind the camera is composer Morgan Kibby with an interesting and engaging score.
Negatives:
- The events shown have a wraparound story showing Jane’s later writing life, both in a mid-life relationship with philosopher Donald (Sope Dirisu) and her elderly life (where Jane is portrayed by Glenda Jackson). It is a genuine delight to see Ms Jackson on the screen again: astonishingly, according to IMDB, her last big-screen appearance was back in 1990! However, these structural elements of the story didn’t work for me. Although I might be accused of ‘not understanding what the writer was trying to do’ (incorrect, I do), there is a case here, at least in the movie version, for a ‘simple is good’ approach. I think the underlying story set in 1924 was gripping and engaging enough not to require the complexity introduced by these later scenes. I’d have preferred a simpler 90-minute film focused on that story. (I’ve not read Graham Swift’s book: perhaps this all works better as a novel?)
- Typecasting is a terrible thing, but Josh O’Connor has such a striking resemblance to Prince Charles that it’s sometimes difficult not to think “Ooh, I’ve just seen the future king’s bits”!
Summary Thoughts on “Mothering Sunday”
It’s the acting and the cinematography that sets this apart for me. Although it had its irritations, I found this to be a beautiful and engaging watch. The story is perhaps a tad predictable. But overall this is a nicely crafted and thought-provoking film that gets a thumbs up from me.
Trailer for “Mothering Sunday”:
The trailer is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zcf6GtNvMCQ .
