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
- swxtcpkw - 20 May 2024
Intensely beautiful and heartbreaking
It took me awhile to get into this film but it was worth it- a great payoff. How everyone in the aristocratic households handled the loss of their sons in different ways pulled me in. The scenes of lovemaking and nudity were handled In a natural way by the two talented actors and you knew The maid could never be with him. The well -known stiff Upper lip is on display by the men. To see what the Brits lost in both wars one only needs to drive by the cemeteries heading into Cambridge. It brings to mind The movie Testament of Youth based on the memoir of Vera Brittain. Also the music was well chosen and The film had an ethereal look about it. I loved Colin Firth's Acting and the juxtaposition with his wife's emotions.
Quietly powerful film. - mplaza - 22 November 2022
Lyrical and nostalgic
There's a characteristic I find in many a film directed by women in which a very special aesthetic envolves the final product, a certain something, difficult-to-define aura that wholly eludes male-directed movies. This film is one of those. Delicately filmed, exquisitely timed and paced and with a remarkable performance from Australian actress Odessa Young, it is a very rewarding achievement. I've seen it has been considered less favourably by other people in this website, but I found it to be an out of the ordinary production. Ms Young gives out a complex, richly moulded and uninhibited characterisation of the film's protagonist that certainly deserves to be seen. The other characters are less satisfactorily rendered, yet in my opinion perhaps more the fault of the screenplay writers than of the actors or actresses involved. But this is the kind of film one returns to after some time has passed since one last saw it, for its beauty and lyricism are indeed rare nowadays.
