Die Mutter – The Mother (2003)

Die Mutter – The Mother: Directed by Roger Michell. With Anne Reid, Peter Vaughan, Anna Wilson-Jones, Daniel Craig. A woman has a passionate affair with a man half her age, who is also sleeping with her daughter.

“Kids – of whatever age – do not want to know about their parentsu0026#39; 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.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eu0026quot;The Motheru0026quot; is a provocative look at a scarcely filmed reality – a woman who isnu0026#39;t ready to stay home, watch u0026quot;the telly,u0026quot; and vegetate after her husband of nearly three decades, and a controlling, dominating chap at that, packs it in with a massive heart attack.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eMay (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. Sheu0026#39;s attractive, not pretty, and she seems to have a close relationship with mum – at first.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eBack 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. Paulau0026#39;s boyfriend, Darren (Daniel Craig), is a ruggedly handsome contractor who seems to be taking an awfully long time to complete an addition to Mayu0026#39;s sonu0026#39;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.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eWhat 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 Mayu0026#39;s pen and ink sketches of their trysts which then play a role in the enfolding drama (or debacle, take your pick).u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe theater in Manhattan was packed for todayu0026#39;s early afternoon showing with well over half the audience in the range of Mayu0026#39;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. u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThis blindingly honest look at an older womanu0026#39;s awakened passion after decades of dutifully obeying her husbandu0026#39;s desire that she stay at home and raise kids (she also mentions he didnu0026#39;t like her to have friends-what a guy) surfaces a number of issues. While Mayu0026#39;s dalliance with Darren doesnu0026#39;t constitute incest, there are real psychological dimensions, and issues, with a mother bedding her daughteru0026#39;s lover. And Paula isnu0026#39;t made of the stoutest stuff to begin with. The affair, once disclosed, allows the peeling open of the mother-daughter relationship which, from Paulau0026#39;s viewpoint, left something to be desired. Ms. Bradshaw is excellent in the role of a daughter who wants her motheru0026#39;s support as well as her love-she hasnu0026#39;t been dealt a terrible hand by life but it isnu0026#39;t a bed of roses either.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eMay is strong in her resolve to both acknowledge her sexuality and expect, indeed demand, a future of happiness. But she is also inescapably vulnerable. Sheu0026#39;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, sheu0026#39;s still a work in progress.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eu0026quot;Somethingu0026#39;s Gotta Giveu0026quot; recently showcased mature sexuality but in an amusingly antiseptic way assuring no viewer would be discomfited. After all itu0026#39;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, Keatonu0026#39;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.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eNo easy out here. Anne Reidu0026#39;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).u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eKudos to director Roger Michell for tackling a fascinating story with verve and empathy.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003e9/10.”