FOUR MOTHERS
(Original Title: null)
Ireland (2024) 89 mins.
Genre: Comedy/Drama
Directors/writers: Darren Thornton
Cast: James McArdle (Edward), Fionnula Flanagan (Alma), Dearbhla Malloy (Jean), Niamh Cusack (Maura), Stella McCusker (Maude)
Screening 31 March 2027 at Swindon Arts Centre
Synopsis
Edward, a novelist saddled with caring for his elderly mother, finally finds himself on the brink of literary success. With pressure to go on a US book tour mounting, the last thing Edward needs is his friends jetting off to Spain for an impromptu Pride holiday, leaving their mothers on his doorstep! Over a chaotic weekend, he has to juggle his burgeoning career with the care of four eccentric, combative, and wildly different ladies.
Reviews
Happily, the last few decades have done much for queer acceptance in parent-child relationships – it’s quietly vital to the mother-son bond in the Irish comedy Four Mothers … Irish director Darren Thornton’s delightful film is a reworking of the 2008 Italian charmer ‘Mid-August Lunch’, and is in many respects an improvement …
Four Mothers is droll and gentle, but in its own way markedly progressive: films about queer adults still negotiating their identities with their elderly parents are unusual, with or without this one’s delicacy and wit.
This enjoyable Irish comedy drama follows Edward (James McArdle), an up-and-coming gay novelist and a full-time carer for his 80-something mother (Fionnula Flanagan), who communicates via an iPad after a stroke …
… this briskly paced film from writer/director Darren Thornton treats its elderly characters with compassion and doesn’t ignore the contradictory feelings one might experience in caring for an ageing parent. Blending humour and insight, Four Mothers features a fine ensemble that expertly brings out its characters’ different personalities, beliefs and life experiences.
Film Facts
- Written by brothers Darren and Colin Thornton, this is a touching story inspired by real life.
- Four Mothers had 7 nominations for the Irish Film & Television Awards
- Fionnula Flanagan was also in the film ‘Four Brothers’ in 2005