In the past, films were hardly longer than an average spin class. Movies were strictly capped at ninety minutes, which for some reason, forced directors and writers to tell stories more efficiently (which, to my eyes at least, is an art form that seems to have been lost nowadays) but, back in the day, that was the norm.
So, when a movie comes along that’s chinoging the 90-minute mark, my curiosity and my hope for the return of quality entertainment is set on fire. And thankfully, my wish was granted.
Four Mothers is Darren Thornton’s joyous encore to the cinema stage after a nine-year break following his debut feature A Date for Mad Mary, which he co-wrote with his brother and longtime collaborator Colin Thornton
They join forces again for this light, uplifting, and frequently cheeky story which, even before the first shot, gets off to a flying start with a frenetic, hyperactive voiceover from Edward (Glasgow-born James MacArdle) gearing up for a critical job interview to market his new book.
And public relations comes to Edward as a promising queer YA novelist, albeit one that has yet to figure out the concept of balance between working and living. With speaking publicly for work triggering panic attacks and his personal life in stagnant limbo, combined with a mother Alma (Fionnula Flanagan) recuperating from a stroke, the stress on Edward is unrelenting.
Assumed the role of her primary caregiver, which is about as funny as it is sad, captures her unique bond with the daughter that she shredded to pieces. There’s something hilarious about Edward, even while carefully attending to his mother as she dresses, uses the toilet, or eats breakfast tasks where a flurry of demands spew from her iPad speech synthesizer and suppressing a panic attack about an interview no sane human wants to do.
Their relationship is the emotional core of the film, alongside the embarrassment of having to decide whether to accept his American tour for the first time and step into the claws of his predestined black hole, or continue playing nurse to his mother.
Edward’s strong foundations left me hanging from every word and Alma’s intricacies left me riveted.
At first, you would expect a light hearted comedy to portray a sophisticated mother and son bond, however, the Thornton brothers use that expectation against us even though their characters aren’t safe from the script being flipped.
Eventually, the film transitions to Edward’s wider life which includes him obsessing over his mother’s stunning physio Raf (Gaetan Garcia) who complicatingly happens to be his ex-girlfriend, along with his three friends who after caregiving their elderly mothers to the point of madness, decide to book an impulsive trip to a Pride Event in Las Palomas, leaving their elderly ‘mams’ in Edward’s questionable care.
From Edward’s perspective, it is more like a deranged thing of Murphy’s Law. Anything that can potentially make his life more complicated will, without a doubt, do so. That aside, the four titular mothers are not quite happy about an unexpected turn of events either. When we picture Jean (Dearbhla Malloy), Maude (Stella McCusker), and Rosey (Paddy Glynn), we do not anticipate misfit old age as the default they are stubborn boundary testers, incorrigible rule breakers.
They are capable of more than inefficiently performing basic tasks offered by their sons, yet somehow Edward still has to lug around the golden girls during and after their meals, their doctor’s appointments, and even spontaneous journeys to distant fortune-telling places. Thornton isn’t about to make anything easier for the boy.
What ensues after Edward is punished and gradually sent to hell for a chaotic Dublin weekend is a literally unbelievable chaotic joyride. This internationally publicized tour, while a screaming mess, is buried in the proverbial sand and allows them to ignore the fears he would rather not confront.
Most viewers will relate to Four Mothers on some deep level and for some caring for their aging family members perched on the ceiling watching everything else unfold is reason enough to consider themselves part of the majority. The film deals with themes that comedies rarely touch, if they do, it’s never as skillfully as this, showcasing the custodial parts of humanity and its brutal underbelly.
It charms the viewer while simultaneously changing life as one knows it emotionally, but it is a delightful film only Thornton could imagine.
I was taught something new while laughing long live the 90-minute movies!
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