It’s a story about first love. Actually, it’s a story about the after of first love. It’s a story not so much about being in love, as being out of love. It’s a story about the loss of love. It’s a story that deals with what it means to be a homosexual man in hum-drum Irish suburbia. Except, not really. It’s a story that examines how religion and close society can deeply affect how we perceive ourselves and how we treat others. No, that’s too trite. It’s actually about all and none of the above.
This is an almost direct quote from the opening mumblings of comedy-drama Four Mothers, as author Edward, played by James McArdle, struggles to write a succinct synopsis for his new novel. Of course, this is a thinly-veiled description of the film itself, but just like the floundering Edward, it doesn’t get to the heart of what Four Mothers is truly about: the responsibility of care, not just for others, but for yourself.
A remake (of sorts) of the 2008 Italian film, Mid-August Lunch, Four Mothers transposes the action from Rome to Dublin. Edward juggles his life as an emerging novelist on the brink of international success, with being a full-time carer for his mother, played by an excellent Fionnula Flanagan, who has been rendered mute and physically impaired following a stroke. When his publishers arrange a two-week promotional tour of the US for his new novel, Edward battles between his duty of care for his mother and his own career and dreams. His conflict is only enhanced when his three so-called friends all dump their own mothers on him so that they can sun themselves at a three-day Pride festival in the Mediterranean.
McArdle and Flanagan share an easy chemistry as the central mother/ son duo, and much of the film’s enjoyment comes from them constantly sparring with each other, no mean feat considering Flanagan’s role is entirely silent. Hers is a masterful performance, one that relies solely on stern eyes and pursed lips, and for a noiseless character she is probably the most attention-grabbing. When the other three mothers arrive on the scene, the film is injected with chaotic energy. Spiky dialogue and catty one-liners provide plenty of laughs, though the humour occasionally flirts with being too broad – a line about a pouffe is both obvious and unwelcome.
Whilst the additional mothers do provide some amusing distractions, that’s unfortunately all they amount to. The filmmakers are restricted by being tied to the central premise of the original Mid-August Lunch. In that film, there was reason for the main character to be charged with the care of multiple elderly women – he is struggling financially, and this is a means for him to pay off several debts – but here, the arrival of the mothers is almost incidental. They come and go without having much effect on either Edward or the plot. In fact, they could be removed from the script all together, and the outcome for Edward and his mother would remain much the same. It’s a shame, because the filmmakers had all the ingredients to make something much more profound and heartfelt – multiple perspectives on how it feels to be the “cared-for”; to be entirely reliant on someone else; to be casually discarded by your own callous sons. These questions are not touched upon at all, which seems a wasted opportunity, and the film ultimately never quite hits the notes of poignancy it is clearly striving for. Still, even without this deeper level of emotion and thoughtfulness, what remains is a chaotic, humorous ninety-minutes, with likeable characters and an especially engaging performance from Fionnula Flanagan.
Four Mothers is screening at Plymouth Arts Cinema from 11th – 17th April.
Reviewed by Matthew Onuki Luke
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