Mothering Sunday
Set over a day in 1924, the story follows Jane Fairchild, a maid in the Niven household, who has the day off to celebrate Mothering Sunday while Mr. and Mrs. Niven attend a lunch to celebrate the engagement of their neighbour’s only remaining son, Paul, to Emma Hobday. Jane rejoices at her freedom on an unseasonably hot, beautiful spring day. But, she has no mother to go to. For almost seven years she has – joyfully and without shame – been Paul’s lover. Like the Nivens, Paul belongs to England’s old money aristocracy, whereas Jane was orphaned at birth. With the house conveniently empty, they can finally meet in Paul’s bedroom for the first time. Today will be their last as lovers. It is also the day that will mark the beginning of Jane’s transformation as the story unfolds through the hours of clandestine passion.
- Released: 2021-11-12
- Runtime: 110 minutes
- Genre: Drama, Romance
- Stars: Odessa Young, Josh O'Connor, Olivia Colman, Colin Firth, Glenda Jackson, Sope Dirisu, Nathan Reeve, Samuel Barlow, Dexter Raggatt, Patsy Ferran, Charlie Oscar, Emma D'Arcy, Simon Shepherd, Caroline Harker, Craig Crosbie, Emily Woof, Alex Cubb, Forrest Bothwell, Albert Welling, Sarita Gabony, Steve Brody
- Director: Eva Husson
Comments
- shaun-35238 - 1 January 2023
Not for the thinking person.
It's rare to find a movie where you can't saying at least one or two good things about it. This is one where I can't say one good thing about it.
There's probably only one demographic this will appeal to. This is one of the few movies I've turned off halfway through as it was little more than women watching men get dressed after sex and talking rubbish.
There is probably little more I can add to this to fill the character requirement for a review other than it's very shallow, poorly acted, poorly written, poorly cast and will really only appeal to people who watch movies for nudity with no substance. - Woolfofthewood - 16 July 2022
Deliciously slow, modernist drama
So this film is simply gorgeous.
It has a period feel but isn't stuffy. There are as many scenes without clothes as with them - and the actors are beautifully unselfconscious and believable.
The Nivens: an unfathomably brittle, broken and grieving mother (Olivia Coleman) and gentle, empty and lost father and husband (Colin Firth) are exquisitely cast and played - Firth visibly flinches in pain and empathy as Cole snaps at his continued efforts at politeness and generosity to friends. Their lack of sons is palpable in Firth's playing or Mr Niven's gentle paternal encouragement of all the young people they share their lives with (the maid and narrator included) and Cole's sharp silence.
The character of the narrator binds the temporal shifts together as we see how the events of one day can impact a whole life. Amazing acting from Odessa Young makes this film a joy to watch.
The only complaint is the slightly obvious addition of the narrator as an old woman (Glenda Jackson) - this trope is, no doubt, in the source material but could have been omitted as it only serves to make the structure a little cliched.
Otherwise a wonderful and sumptuous - and incredibly well acted - film which is well worth watching over and over again .
