movie review mommy

Movie Reviews

Tv/streaming, collections, great movies, chaz's journal, contributors.

Now streaming on:

Willfully over determined and perversely stylized, “Mommy,” the fifth directorial feature from young filmmaker Xavier Dolan was certainly an attention-getter at last year’s Cannes Film Festival, where the jury obliged it to share a prize with Ye Olde Postmodernist Jean-Luc Godard ’s latest, “Goodbye To Language.” To paraphrase Public Enemy, in the case of Dolan’s picture you might be well advised to look skeptically upon what is, to this critic’s eye, a hype. 

The 25-year-old Dolan, a one-time child actor who cultivates a public persona equal parts prickly and smirkily smarmy, could be intuited as French-Canadian art cinema’s answer to Justin Bieber even were he a press-avoiding recluse. It’s in the work. Here, the story (such as it is) concerns a deeply troubled teen released into the custody of his abrasive, at-loose-ends single mom, after wreaking havoc in a juvenile detention center. (The movie begins with a text proviso recounting the passage of a [fictional] Canadian law allowing parents to have children committed at will, which is the sort of thing that academics call “foreshadowing.”) The mom, Diana, calls herself “Die” and has an overly festooned keychain and wears super-short skirts and wants to get work as a translator, but not of super-long work such as that of Ken Follett (don’t look at me, that’s what she says when talking herself up to a potential client). She’s played with hardened integrity by Anne Dorval . Also excellent is Suzanne Clément as Kyla, a neighbor of Diane who takes an interest in the welfare of her son. 

Less good is Antoine-Olivier Pilon as Steve, the son. One can’t be entirely sure whether it’s Pilon’s look-ma-no-control performance or the fact that Steve’s not so much a character as a construction of tics and tropes. Angel-faced but never not mugging, not particularly intelligent but always capable of a razor-sharp comeback to a perceived slight, Steve is an ideal of the anti-social. One gets the feeling that Dolan finds him admirable somehow, which rubbed this critic very much the wrong way. To the extent that as the movie trudged on, whenever some misfortune befell the boy, I found myself reminded of the notorious reactionary conservative cartoonist Al Capp’s observation that by his lights, “ Easy Rider ” had a happy ending.

Although he has very little sense of structure or narrative, Dolan does have a noticeable technical facility, or perhaps the ability to hire, with the help of several national arts subsidies, crew members of technical facility, whom he uses to the fullest. The first minutes of the film are replete with nifty little color tricks, focus fripperies, and lens flares. The sound mix, too, is very “Hey!” as when one song plays on the soundtrack (and yeah, I think it WAS Counting Crows) while other music leaks through Steve’s headphones. The showoffiness extends to the movie’s frame itself. 

For the most part, Dolan presents the film in a 1:1 aspect ratio, a perfect square (although tricks of the eye make it look more narrow a view than it actually presents). This is even more extreme in its boxiness than the old “Academy ratio” most of us know from sound films of Hollywood up until the early 1950s. In theory this framing intends to trap the viewer into the hemmed-in dimensions of the characters’ life options, and as such, one could argue that it serves that function well. However. Dolan breaks out of it twice: once during a montage in which Steve, Kaya, and Diane start to blossom in their affinities and affections; tooling along to “Wonderwall,” Steve almost literally “opens” the frame, willing the film into widescreen and letting the imagery breathe a bit. Why it’s almost as if the “Steve Effect” the character jokingly spoke of earlier was real! Soon enough, circumstances intrude and the frame shrinks again. 

The effect is of a corny but effective metaphor (and the montage itself is so full of “moments” it suggests Dolan won’t have any trouble at all adjusting to working in Hollywood once he gets there). It’s with the second widening that Dolan shows his true hand, expanding the screen’s dimensions for a dream sequence in which the actual Steve is replaced by what I’ll call Hunky Steve, who’s normal and loves his mom and gets married and gives mom a grandson, etc. Once Diane is shaken into waking, the box hems her in again, and the effect is actually sadistic: against Diane, and yes, against the audience. Dolan is not going to let you forget who’s boss. As for myself, I quit. 

Glenn Kenny

Glenn Kenny was the chief film critic of Premiere magazine for almost half of its existence. He has written for a host of other publications and resides in Brooklyn. Read his answers to our Movie Love Questionnaire here .

Now playing

Art College 1994

Simon abrams.

Veselka: The Rainbow on the Corner at the Center of the World

Brian tallerico.

The Truth vs. Alex Jones

Under the Bridge

Cristina escobar.

The Old Oak

Matt zoller seitz.

Carol Doda Topless at the Condor

Marya e. gates, film credits.

Mommy (2015)

Rated R language throughout, sexual references and some violence

139 minutes

Anne Dorval as Diane (Die) Després

Antoine-Olivier Pilon as Steve Després

Suzanne Clément as Kyla

Patrick Huard

• Xavier Dolan

Latest blog posts

Speed Kills: On the 25th Anniversary of Go

Joanna Arnow Made Her BDSM Comedy for You

The Movies That Underwent Major Changes After Their Festival Premiere

Netflix's Dead Boy Detectives Is A Spinoff Stuck In Limbo

Advertisement

Supported by

Movie Review

Parent and Child as Two Volcanoes Under One Roof

• Share full article

Movie Review: ‘Mommy’

The times critic a. o. scott reviews “mommy.”.

By A.O. Scott

• Jan. 22, 2015

The French-Canadian writer, director and actor Xavier Dolan is only 25, but “Mommy,” his fifth feature film in five years, seems like the work of an even younger filmmaker. I mean this, mostly, as a compliment. Stories of adolescence — young adult novels, coming-of-age movies, teenage-targeted television series — are usually the work of adults, and therefore often temper their emotional immediacy with nostalgia, condescension or grown-up wisdom. But “Mommy,” the story of a troubled young man and his mother, seethes and howls with unchecked feeling. Shot in the square, narrow dimensions of a cellphone video, it is a pocket opera of grandiose self-pity, a wild and uncompromising demand for attention, a cri de coeur from the selfie generation.

As such, it courts dismissal, misunderstanding and perhaps even anger. Why does this movie have to be so noisy? So needy? So inconsiderate of the needs of others? Can’t it, just for a minute, mind its manners, clean up its room and behave responsibly? But the film’s ability to provoke such strong negative sentiments and at the same time — even within the same viewer — equally strong feelings of sympathy, solidarity and identification is testament to Mr. Dolan’s talent. To take “Mommy” as an undisciplined outpouring of aggression and angst is to underestimate its artistry. He has both advanced beyond the romanticism of “Heartbeats” and “Laurence Anyways” and regressed toward a more primal and confrontational mode of storytelling. “Mommy” may seem out of control, but it knows exactly what it’s doing.

Can the same be said about Steve (Antoine Olivier Pilon), the energetic blond ball of rage and longing who is the film’s problem child? Can it be said about his mother, Diane (Anne Dorval), a profane diva of maternal ardor? They are twin volcanoes of love and frustration, but there is also something calculated and manipulative about their eruptions.

Steve, pretty and pouty with the physicality of a young bull, returns to Diane’s care after being thrown out of a group home. She pleads with her son to calm down, but it’s also clear that she’s afraid of him. And she can be pretty frightening in her own right, even as Ms. Dorval’s performance teeters on the edge of camp. She barrels through the film’s claustrophobic frames and its drab suburban locations like Anna Magnani auditioning for a role on “The Real Housewives of Montreal.” A widow, Diane clings to her son, though she craves a measure of freedom. She flirts with a neighbor but hesitates to bring anyone new into the chaos of her household.

Eventually, she and Steve make room for someone else, another neighbor, named Kyla (Suzanne Clément). If Steve and Diane are trapped in their own florid dysfunction, Kyla is a prisoner of domestic normalcy. She lives with her husband and daughter and suffers from a mysterious (and partly metaphorical) speech disorder that makes self-expression almost impossible, a problem that the mother and son across the street decidedly don’t share. But she joins their family in a capacity that is at once straightforward — she’s Diane’s friend and Steve’s sometime caretaker — and fraught with troubling and tantalizing implications.

It is possible to see “Mommy” as television-worthy drama about the challenges of living with a difficult child in a world that offers little understanding or support. And it’s also possible to speculate on the reasons for Steve’s behavior, including the death of his father and Diane’s evident instability. But psychological realism is as foreign to Mr. Dolan’s concerns as superheroes or car chases. He is a maker of feverish fables, of spectacles that aim for the logic-defying intensity of pop ballads.

Though not a musical, “Mommy” often feels like one as it swells and ebbs on the melodramatic currents of love, pain and frustration. It is also, within its very modest means, formally audacious. The cramped images can barely hold two people at once, and restrict our sense of the characters’ movements, turning each performance into a solo. But then at one point Steve, feeling free and happy for the first time, pushes against the sides of the frame and literally opens the movie up. It’s an absurd, naïve and beautiful moment, a willful defiance of all the rules of proper filmmaking.

Last spring, a Cannes jury led by Jane Campion split one of its prizes between Mr. Dolan and Jean-Luc Godard, the 84-year-old lion of the Nouvelle Vague whose 3-D feature, “Goodbye to Language,” vigorously demonstrates that cinema still has the capacity to surprise, provoke and astonish. “Mommy” makes the same argument with radically different methods. Love it or hate it, this movie will not leave you alone.

“Mommy” is rated R (Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian). Harsh language, unruly feelings, inappropriate behavior.

A film review last Friday about “Mommy,” the story of a troubled young man and his mother, omitted rating information. The film is rated R.

How we handle corrections

Explore More in TV and Movies

Not sure what to watch next we can help..

Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell speak about how “Anyone but You” beat the rom-com odds. Here are their takeaways after the film , debuting on Netflix, went from box office miss to runaway hit.

The vampire ballerina in the new movie “Abigail” has a long pop culture lineage . She and her sisters are obsessed, tormented and likely to cause harm.

In a joint interview, the actors Lily Gladstone and Riley Keough discuss “Under the Bridge,” their new true-crime series  based on a teenager’s brutal killing in British Columbia.

The movie “Civil War” has tapped into a dark set of national angst . In polls and in interviews, a segment of voters say they fear the country’s divides may lead to actual, not just rhetorical, battles.

If you are overwhelmed by the endless options, don’t despair — we put together the best offerings   on Netflix , Max , Disney+ , Amazon Prime  and Hulu  to make choosing your next binge a little easier.

Sign up for our Watching newsletter  to get recommendations on the best films and TV shows to stream and watch, delivered to your inbox.

• International edition
• Australia edition
• Europe edition

Mommy review – heartfelt ADHD family drama

Rising star Antoine Olivier Pilon plays ADHD teenager Steve with explosive energy in this impressive account

F rench-Canadian prodigy Xavier Dolan’s fifth feature (he’s still in his mid-20s) is an occasionally histrionic but heartfelt account of a single mom, Die (Anne Dorval), struggling to deal with her sweet but volatile son, Steve (Antoine Olivier Pilon), whose ADHD wreaks havoc on their suburban life. Excluded from education after setting fire to a cafeteria, Steve requires home schooling, so Die turns to reclusive neighbour Kyla (Suzanne Clément) to revive the teaching skills from which she is “on sabbatical”. Hemmed in by financial pressures, and each differently outcast from society, the misfit trio begin to form an alternative family unit, the potential despair of their individual situations somehow vaporising in the company of their collective hope.

Framed for the most part in a claustrophobically boxy 5:4 ratio that echoes the confining strictures of their lives (financial, social, emotional), Mommy ’s scope widens at key moments in a manner that is jubilant, joyous and expansive; you feel a weight lifting off your chest as Steve first forces the frame wide open, the movie exhaling as he exclaims “I’m free!” Elsewhere, the too-tight living quarters of the drama are bathed in an unexpectedly affectionate light, warm red and orange hues keeping the cloudy greys and browns of kitchen-sink “realism” at bay.

Dorval and Clément (with whom Dolan first worked on his debut feature I Killed My Mother ) are both exceptional, their brilliantly controlled performances contrasting with the explosive energy of rising star Pilon, who looks set to burst out of the screen and into the auditorium. Occasionally, the mixtape musical choices – Dido, Celine Dion, Oasis – strike a (deliberately?) bum bombastic note, understatement being in short supply when it comes to the soundtrack. But with emotions as raw as these it’s unsurprising that everything should be turned up to 11, leaving your head, heart and ears ringing.

• The Observer
• Drama films
• Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
• Parents and parenting

Comments (…)

Most viewed.

Log in or sign up for Rotten Tomatoes

Trouble logging in?

By continuing, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies , and to receive email from the Fandango Media Brands .

By creating an account, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies , and to receive email from Rotten Tomatoes and to receive email from the Fandango Media Brands .

By creating an account, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies , and to receive email from Rotten Tomatoes.

Email not verified

Let's keep in touch.

Sign up for the Rotten Tomatoes newsletter to get weekly updates on:

• Upcoming Movies and TV shows
• Trivia & Rotten Tomatoes Podcast
• Media News + More

By clicking "Sign Me Up," you are agreeing to receive occasional emails and communications from Fandango Media (Fandango, Vudu, and Rotten Tomatoes) and consenting to Fandango's Privacy Policy and Terms and Policies . Please allow 10 business days for your account to reflect your preferences.

OK, got it!

Movies / TV

No results found.

• What's the Tomatometer®?
• Login/signup

Movies in theaters

• Opening this week
• Top box office
• Coming soon to theaters
• Certified fresh movies

Movies at home

• Fandango at Home
• Netflix streaming
• Prime Video
• Most popular streaming movies
• What to Watch New

Certified fresh picks

• Challengers Link to Challengers
• I Saw the TV Glow Link to I Saw the TV Glow
• Música Link to Música

New TV Tonight

• The Veil: Season 1
• Hacks: Season 3
• The Tattooist of Auschwitz: Season 1
• A Man in Full: Season 1
• Acapulco: Season 3
• Welcome to Wrexham: Season 3
• John Mulaney Presents: Everybody's in LA: Season 1
• Star Wars: Tales of the Empire: Season 1
• My Next Guest Needs No Introduction With David Letterman: Season 4.2
• Shardlake: Season 1

Most Popular TV on RT

• Baby Reindeer: Season 1
• Fallout: Season 1
• Shōgun: Season 1
• Dead Boy Detectives: Season 1
• Velma: Season 2
• Them: Season 2
• Ripley: Season 1
• Under the Bridge: Season 1
• 3 Body Problem: Season 1
• We Were the Lucky Ones: Season 1
• Best TV Shows
• Most Popular TV
• TV & Streaming News

Certified fresh pick

• Dead Boy Detectives: Season 1 Link to Dead Boy Detectives: Season 1
• All-Time Lists
• Binge Guide
• Comics on TV
• Five Favorite Films
• Video Interviews
• Weekend Box Office
• Weekly Ketchup
• What to Watch

All Zendaya Movies Ranked by Tomatometer

Video Game TV Shows Ranked by Tomatometer

What to Watch: In Theaters and On Streaming

Awards Tour

The Most Anticipated Movies of 2024

Poll: Most Anticipated Movies of May 2024

• Trending on RT
• Most Anticipated TV of May
• Seen on Screen
• Zendaya Movies
• Play Movie Trivia

Mommy Reviews

Mommy ratifies Dolan's immense talent, his ability to intensely direct actors and his tireless creativity, but also his capriciousness and superfluous aesthetic, which often make him lose focus of what is essential. [Full review in Spanish]

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Jun 22, 2023

...for all of Steve's livewire energy, the hero of Mommy is never in doubt. Anne Dorval is simply amazing as the indomitable Die...

Full Review | Original Score: 4.5/5 | Apr 22, 2021

Let's say it's a movie for all the broken families in the world who have the illusion of being perfect. [Full review in Spanish]

Full Review | Original Score: 8/10 | Jun 26, 2020

Nno actress this year came close to matching the ferocious performance in Mommy by Anne Dorval...

Full Review | Aug 8, 2019

Mommy is doubtlessly a true modern masterpiece.

Full Review | Aug 6, 2019

A few false endings weaken Mommy's power and Pilon can annoy as much as he entertains at times, but the technicolour energy present onscreen is one of the most electrifying things this year.

Full Review | Original Score: 5/5 | May 31, 2019

Dolan is a director who thinks hard about the possibilities of cinema and explores them with verve and ingenuity, but it is in his latest film that everything has come together.

Full Review | Original Score: 5/5 | Apr 4, 2019

It's overwhelming, powerful, and bracingly sincere, though my initial reaction was that turning down the dials a bit (it's 139 minutes of fierce family drama) may have served it well.

Full Review | Original Score: 8/10 | Mar 19, 2019

This film kept surpassing my expectations by keeping its focus on [Anne Dorval's Diane] and not the one who would be the main character of any other film: her at turns charismatic, obnoxious and violent 15-year-old, blonde son, Steve.

Full Review | Mar 8, 2019

Dolan's weakness is that beneath the razzamatazz, he's saddled himself with a straightforward narrative, thus his artillery merely serves the purpose of hammering home subtext

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Nov 10, 2018

... for some this film will be drama with a capital D and a little too much but for me it epitomises what film making truly is: storytelling, imagery and engaging the viewer's heart and mind from start to finish.

Full Review | Aug 22, 2018

The film is altogether likable and tugs at heartstrings because it openly aims for them and, of Dolan's films to date, it's the most eager to please. But it underwhelms for the very same reasons.

Full Review | Aug 3, 2018

All three of the leads do excellent work, but Anne Dorval is especially stunning. I won't resort to the cliché "larger than life" to describe her performance, because nothing is larger than life in Mommy - except for life itself.

Full Review | Jan 12, 2018

The fact that this unusual film not only works, but is one of the best of the year, is conclusive proof that Xavier Dolan has joined the top tier of directors.

Full Review | Oct 11, 2017

Xavier Dolan's film gets under the skin, and stays there.

Full Review | Aug 8, 2017

In Mommy, Dolan has essentially stunted his work, speaking both figuratively and literally.

Full Review | Original Score: C- | Jun 6, 2016

Mommy forces you to give in to its relentless energy. Dolan conducts it with gusto, leaving us with a cathartic reckoning with his own demons.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Apr 6, 2016

It's perhaps a never-seen-before technical stunt that's deeply intriguing, seriously cinematic and impossible to discuss without giving it all away.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/5 | Jan 1, 2016

Xavier Dolan's Mommy is an endurance test even by the standards of miserablist drama.

Full Review | Dec 31, 2015

You can see the talent that lies beneath Dolan's aggressive method, and the promise of something great in his future.

Full Review | Dec 21, 2015

clock This article was published more than  9 years ago

‘Mommy’ movie review: An unconventional, combustible family dynamic

It’s not often that an audience of critics claps at a movie at the Cannes Film Festival, let alone breaks into delirious applause in the middle of a movie. But that’s precisely what happened during a screening of “Mommy” at Cannes last year. And anyone who sees it will know why.

The moment is so bracing and so unexpected — such a literal and figurative breakthrough — that it would be unfair to spoil it. From here on in, it will be referred to simply by the code word “Wonderwall,” the Oasis song that, after you’ve seen the scene in question, will never fail to elicit a giddy smile. For this scene alone, it’s worth seeing “Mommy,” even if the rest of the movie doesn’t always live up to its exhilarating, edge-dwelling verve.

Canadian director Xavier Dolan — who at 25 already has made five movies — may not always demonstrate exacting discipline or storytelling rigor in this dysfunctional family drama. But for pure expressive energy, he presents an inspiring vision of what films could be if their creators would unclench a little bit and let their flags fly a little looser, higher and freer.

Dolan also proves how important great casting can be. It’s early days yet, but Anne Dorval delivers one of the young year’s bravest performances as Diane “Die” Despres, the funny, sexy, explosively temperamental single mother of a troubled teenage son named Steve (Antoine-Olivier Pilon). As “Mommy” opens, Die is on her way to fetch Steve from a juvenile detention facility, which he’s being kicked out of for misbehavior. What ensues is a vivid, sometimes unsettling portrait of their highly charged relationship, which skates perilously close to a doomed romance between two immature, damaged but deeply loving souls.

Although Dolan injects whiffs of incestuous desire here and there, he mostly focuses on the dramatically pitched dynamics between mother and son, who can be seen swearing, fighting, partying and embracing in ways that constantly blur the line between parent and child. The widowed Diane, a book translator living in the Montreal suburbs, has clearly set few boundaries for Steve, who has been diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. What might have worked for her before, however, is not working so well now, as Steve’s mood swings have become exponentially more violent and frightening.

Dolan has filmed “Mommy” in 1:1 aspect ratio, which means the frame is a perfect square, giving Die and Steve’s crowded house an even more cramped, claustrophobic feel, and suggesting that viewers are observing their chaotic life together through a keyhole. When they befriend a shy neighbor named Kyla (Suzanne Clement), some predictable complications and competitions ensue; unlike Die and Steve, who veritably leap off the screen as irrepressible, fully rounded characters, Kyla remains strangely recessive, her background never explained and her role going curiously unexploited.

Late in the movie, Dolan attempts a flourish similar to that signature “Wonderwall” scene; although the sequence in question is undoubtedly moving and even beautiful, it feels less spontaneous than redundant and showy. The filmmaker also has a tendency to stack the deck, plot-wise, resulting in a disappointingly overblown conclusion.

Still, the volatile, unbridled emotion of “Mommy” — its sheer life force — makes up for its structural weaknesses, giving viewers an often breathtaking glimpse of a director who, like his own adamantly unconventional protagonists, is fairly bursting at the seams with spiky, headstrong brio.

R. At Landmark’s Bethesda Row Cinema and AMC Loews Shirlington 7. Contains profanity throughout, sexual references and some violence. In French with subtitles. 139 minutes.

STRESS POSITIONS & Interview With Theda Hammel & John Early

ISA TOP 25 SCREENWRITERS TO WATCH Interview With Kathryn Orwig

AMAR SINGH CHAMKILA: A Spiced Venture Of The Formulaic Music Biopics

TRAP Trailer

ENTER FOR A CHANCE TO WIN THE DEPARTED DIGITAL MOVIE!

Interview With Dylan Baker for LAROY, TEXAS

ISA TOP 25 SCREENWRITERS TO WATCH Interview With Thuc Doan Nguyen

Interview With Screenwriter Alessandro Camon For THE LISTENER

NO WAY UP Represents The Democratization Of Bad Underwater Thrillers

MONSTER: The Truth About Youth

MoMI First Look 2024: A Wave of Films That Blend Imagery And Medium

THINGS WILL BE DIFFERENT Writer/Director & Cast Interview!

Mommy: a melodrama that shouldn’t work but does.

Alistair is a 25 year old writer based in Cambridge.…

I was having a conversation recently with a friend who complained about how he gets annoyed when he sees child celebrities, as “they’ve already achieved more in life than I ever will and they are younger than me!” As a recent university graduate, without a firm footing into the grown-up world of work, I’m increasingly empathising with this statement, whilst also increasingly acknowledging how ridiculous it is. Why should I be bothered that people who are more talented than me are going places, just because they are younger? I soon realised the reason why – child celebrities are forced into the spotlight and given a fully-formed image, whereas nobody in real life even knows what they want to be at a young age because they are far too busy exploring the concept of their own identity.

As a child actor and prolific voice dubber (he voiced Ron Weasley in the French dubs of the Harry Potter franchise), Xavier Dolan achieved more in life than most of us ever will and this was before he took up directing. Unlike other child celebrities, he didn’t come out in the spotlight fully formed and has spent the last few years on the art-house circuit releasing movies with increasing ambition, not fully discovering the type of filmmaker he is, but rather trying out a bit of everything and seeing what style sticks. Despite not being fully formed, we should still feel jealous of his early promise – his debut feature premiered at the Cannes film festival and he had only just turned 20. Over the course of four previous features, Dolan tried to explore his own identity, with features that were either autobiographical, or trying out different styles to find his “voice”.

A young director peaking early

When Mommy , his fifth feature, premiered at Cannes in May 2014 he had only recently turned 25; in comparison, Orson Welles , the go-to reference for directors who hit their stride at a young age, was 26 when Citizen Kane , his debut feature, was released. Nobody can ever be the director Welles was, nor can any director come out of the gate with a fully realised vision for their debut at such a young age; but the fact that Dolan has been honing his craft and finding his voice for the last six years has helped him make a movie that achieves “modern masterpiece” status at a younger age than Welles .

I hate to evoke one of the greatest directors of all time when walking about any new filmmaker, especially when the similarities end there; Welles made movies that were self-conscious masterpieces, whereas Dolan takes melodramatic narratives and makes them palatable for a more cynical generation. The genuine affection he has for his characters and his strive to experiment with his visuals are what separate him from being a director of mere trash cinema – or worse still, the director of a feature-length soap opera.

Dolan isn’t afraid to mix genres; with  Mommy , he pulls off the near impossible tightrope walk of balancing melodrama with social realism, all of which is buried under a quasi-science fiction concept. At the start of the movie, title cards inform us that the Canadian government have passed a law that allows parents to have the rights to institutionalise their children with no say from the courts, with little chance of them being rehabilitated at these more restrictive facilities.

We are introduced to Dianne ( Anne Dorval ), the mommy of the title, in the midst of a car crash on the way to a meeting with the young offenders institute that houses her son Steve ( Antoine-Olivier Pilon ). After setting fire to the cafeteria and seriously injuring a student, she is given the ultimatum that she either houses him in a more restrictive facility, or she takes him home with her to take care of her on her own; something easier said than done due to being a single widow who works full-time. She takes him home and Steve’s ADHD causes numerous problems – he is violent, loud and obnoxious and makes no attempts to work well with others.

So, what specifically separates Mommy from being a feature-length soap opera? Firstly, the movie is shot in the 1:1 aspect ratio, the aspect ratio most of us are used to seeing on Instagram videos. Instead of being a pretentious experiment from a young, social-media savvy auteur to see if the aspect ratio is cinematically palatable, it works because the narrowness of the screen forces us directly into the lives of these characters. The focus is directly on the actors here, meaning that Dolan’s experiment succeeds; he has only used such an unusual visual element in order to get us to directly focus on the performances, to the point that fairly soon into the movie it becomes unnoticeable because of how much you are invested in the characters and the story.

By making the screen narrower, he’s forcing you to look deeply into the characters lives and ignore the wider world he has created.  Dolan truly is an “actors director”, as he seems to only ever use visual techniques if they compliment the performances the actors give. When the aspect ratio does change, as it does twice in the movie, it provokes one of the most uplifting movie moments in recent memory; how many other directors use their innovative visuals as a way of provoking a deeper emotional reaction to the story, as opposed to mere window dressing to make their movie stand out?

Performances that elevate it past sheer melodrama

Now to talk about the performances. As the put-upon Mommy, Anne Dorval delivers one of the best performances of the year out of material that is pure melodrama. She gives it an uplift that ensures you take the emotional roller coaster of a story completely seriously, as she never plays the role with the cynical detachment most modern actors do when faced with anything in the slightest bit melodramatic. She grounds all the heightened emotions in reality, even when many scenes in the early stages consist of screaming matches between her and her son. With the showier role, Antoine-Olivier Pilon has the difficult task of grounding his character in reality, whilst also making him likeable to the audience – even with a transcendent emotional character arc, this is still easier said than done due to violent outbursts with his mother and abusive outbursts to pretty much everybody else. It is testament to both the inner vulnerability of the performance and Dolan’s screenplay that this never becomes a problem.

Completing the trifecta of emotionally involving performances is Suzanne Clement , playing Dianne’s neighbour who slowly becomes a friend and an integral part of both characters lives. In an unusual move, she is essentially the audience surrogate and reacts to Dianne and Steve’s home life like most people would (her restrained reaction to Steve grabbing his mothers breasts whilst lip synching to Celine Dion is priceless) – yet she isn’t introduced until far later in the movie, after we’ve been exposed to both characters at their most emotionally hysterical. In many ways, she has the most difficult role: she is the character most grounded in reality and has to counteract with both other performances, whilst revealing deeper layers to her own character at the same time. Every actor pulls their role off with aplomb and I am confused, watching it in the middle of the year, as to why it didn’t make a big splash during Oscar time.

One of the things I like about Mommy (and about Xavier Dolan as a director), is the rejection of anything that could be considered cool. Sure, he uses eye-catching technical tricks, but only as a method of getting audiences to engage with a melodrama, that least-cool of genres. He manages to use pop music in his scenes that perfectly compliments the action in a way that should rank him alongside every great director from Scorsese to Tarantino ; yet here, the music he uses are mediocre ballads from Dido and Oasis, that are rendered uplifting due to how he utilises them. The reasoning for the soundtrack is that all the songs featured were on a road trip mixtape from Steve’s childhood – yet even this element of context doesn’t prepare you for hearing overplayed songs in a new light and finally understanding why they were popular in the first place.

Nothing in Mommy should work – it is a modern melodrama in an unsightly aspect ratio, from a director who is surely too young to fully know what he’s doing. The fact that it not only works, but is one of the best movies of the year, is conclusive proof that Xavier Dolan has joined the top tier of directors, who now has found his voice in such a manner it gives him the artistic rights to do whatever he wants. At 26 years old, he has achieved more than we ever will – but if a director this young can make a masterpiece, then it gives me hope for the future of cinema and the increasingly youthful armies of budding filmmakers looking to make a name for themselves.

Have you seen Mommy and do you think it was overlooked at awards season? Also, what movies were you late to discovering and left confused as to why nobody has been talking about them?

Mommy has basically been out forever in the UK, US and all major international territories. All the release dates are here , with the film now being out on DVD/Blu-Ray in most countries.

(top image source: Les Films Seville)

Does content like this matter to you?

Become a Member and support film journalism. Unlock access to all of Film Inquiry`s great articles. Join a community of like-minded readers who are passionate about cinema - get access to our private members Network, give back to independent filmmakers, and more.

Alistair is a 25 year old writer based in Cambridge. He has been writing about film since the start of 2014, and in addition to Film Inquiry, regularly contributes to Gay Essential and The Digital Fix, with additional bylines in Film Stories, the BFI and Vague Visages. Because of his work for Film Inquiry, he is a recognised member of GALECA, the Gay & Lesbian Entertainment Critics' Association.

KUNG FU PANDA 4: Enough Wit For One More Kick

• Write for Us
• Become a Patron
• Comment Policy
• Terms & Conditions
• Staff Login

© 2023 Film Inquiry. All Rights Reserved.

• Become a Critical Movie Critic
• Movie Review Archives

Movie Review: Mommy (2014)

• Aaron Leggo
• Movie Reviews
• One response
• --> October 30, 2014

Maker of music pieces, mood pieces, moving pieces, Xavier Dolan is a one-man filmmaking tour de force. And yet he knows that in order to tap into the meaty emotional center of his stories, he must trust his actors and allow them to run away with their roles. Somehow, this adventurous approach, of being both in control and at the mercy of his explosive cast, results in works of beautiful, haunting art that feel utterly transfixing in their pursuit of cinematically captured truths that cut compellingly to the bone.

Dolan’s latest, Mommy , tells of a fictional near-future Canada where parents of violent children now have the option to send their seemingly unraisable kids to long-term government care facilities, essentially signing away their parental rights in a last-ditch effort to prepare their child for the pressures of adult society. It’s a horrible fate initially scoffed at by titular Mommy Diane (Anne Dorval, “I Killed My Mother”), whose son Steve (Antoine-Olivier Pilon, “Laurence Anyways”) suffers from ADHD and is an emotional firecracker ready to combust at any moment. He can be sweet and loving, but he’s just as likely to erupt in a shower of confused rage.

It’s a terrible predicament for mother and son, who have to find a way to survive not only the confines of their shared apartment, but also the confines of Dolan’s square-shaped frame. The tightened aspect ratio forces the two characters to rattle around in their little box, subject to the suffocating squeeze of the camera’s constraints. This volatile visual situation leads to absolute unpredictability, because the pair can be entirely loving to each other one moment and melting down before our eyes the next.

The actors take off from the start and once they get moving, there’s no turning back. Somehow, Dolan holds it together and puts his stamp on the overall experience without ever stealing the spotlight from his performers. It’s an absolutely thrilling marriage of artistry behind the camera and in front of it, the two sides working in tandem so they both feel fresh and alive, actors and director feeding off each other, inspiring each other.

Dorval’s performance is the kind of towering achievement that can hardly be quantified. Her Diane, who signs papers as D.I.E., simply exists up there on the screen, a fully-formed woman with a past we know hardly anything about and a future she can only dream of. Her highs and lows shake the movie’s foundation, reinforcing the dramatic framework of the picture with an emotional honesty so powerful that it blurs the line between fiction and reality.

Such is Dolan’s talent and that of his cast. Mommy is never less than a believable portrait of a strained, challenging relationship, but it’s also loudly cinematic at times, such as when Steve approaches the camera and stretches its frame to create a temporary, though invigorating widescreen experience during a particularly uplifting moment in the movie. Dolan can create these fabrications, these exits from reality without taking his finger off the pulse of the relationship and without stalling the moving momentum.

He also knows how to delve into such raw territory without so much as flirting with sentimentality. No treacle flows through here, even though the story is ripe for it. Instead we get mere hints of history, just enough to know that the well of hurt these characters are suffering in runs deep. There’s room for so much information, but Dolan trusts his actors to give us everything we need so none of the outbursts and pain and laughter and happiness and frustration ever feel manipulated or manipulative.

The story unfolds naturally, with the characters pushing each other and themselves by their own volition, never slaves to the plot. When neighbor Kyla (Suzanne Clément, “Amsterdam”) enters the picture, her hazy backstory and social insecurities revealed in the form of a speech impediment make her a prime candidate for befriending Diane and Steve. But Dolan once again steps back and lets the relationship come together on its own terms, so we never feel the cogs in the machine turning to push the pieces into place. It’s a sumptuously organic approach, even though the movie features cinematic flourishes that should clash with this method. They don’t, of course, instead leading to a richer, more magical experience that speaks to the surrealism of life.

Scored mainly to an eclectic collection of 90s hits identified as the soundtrack of an old family road trip that Steve holds dear in his memories, Mommy is a journey of emotions and a tale of three people all wrestling with their demons, both internal and external. It relies on brilliant performances and attains them through a trio of actors unafraid to let it all go in front of the camera. And it’s all brought to life by one of Canada’s most electrifying current filmmakers, a young artist bursting with creativity and heart and power, a force fueled by filmic fury and made fascinating by a tremendous tussle between excess and restraint.

Tagged: family , neighbor , school , teenager

You and I both know the truth. You just don't admit it.

Movie Review: Favourites (2019) Movie Review: Uncut Gems (2019) Movie Review: Onward (2020) Movie Review: The Invisible Man (2020) Movie Review: Cats (2019) Movie Review: Frozen II (2019) Movie Review: Corporate Animals (2019)

'Movie Review: Mommy (2014)' has 1 comment

November 3, 2014 @ 10:53 pm Howard Schumann

Sorry, my experience was not as pleasant as yours. I appreciate how real it felt for you but I had no emotional investment in the characters and had trouble caring about the outcome. I’m really not even sure what the point of this film was other than – don’t believe any one who tells you they love you because they will betray you.

Log in to Reply

Privacy Policy | About Us

 |  Log in

By Peter Travers

Peter Travers

This Canadian film has been described as an emotional horror show. It’ll shake you, that’s for damn sure. Writer-director Xavier Dolan, 25, debuted six years ago with I Killed My Mother. Oedipal issues are still at the fore in Mommy, in which 15-year-old, omnisexual, seemingly bipolar Steve (Antoine Olivier Pilon) is more than two handfuls for his widowed mother, Diana “Die” Despres (Anne Dorval).

Meet the MVP of 'Shōgun' — Ex-Punk Rocker and Japanese Movie Star Tadanobu Asano

Team trump is ready to lose the supreme court immunity case. they’re celebrating, billie eilish would like to reintroduce herself, russian mercenaries hunt the african warlord america couldn’t catch.

A new Quebec law reportedly will allow a parent to institutionalize a child without a court procedure. That sets Die to thinking. She’s 50-ish, but those tight pants and skyscraper heels suggest a carnal spirit. The trouble is that blond, blue-eyed Steve can be a charmer when he’s not setting fire to things or threatening physical harm. For help, Die leans on her neighbor (Suzanne Clement), a fragile-looking teacher with no perceived ability to keep the comet that is Steve in a home-school shoebox.

Here’s the thing about Mommy : Even when Dolan gets self-indulgent and works his themes into the ground, he’s a one-man fireworks display. His images jump off the screen and stick in your head. Pilon keeps coming at you. But it’s Dorval whose tour de force performance breaks through barriers of culture and language. Just watch Dorval. She dares you not to.

Nicole Kidman Becomes First Australian to Earn AFI Life Achievement Award

• she makes movies better
• By Daniel Kreps

Meet the MVP of 'Shōgun' — Ex-Punk Rocker and Japanese Movie Star Tadanobu Asano

• TOKYO DRIFTER
• By David Fear

What’s the Story Behind the ‘I Told Ya’ T-Shirt in 'Challengers'? 

• Game, Set, Match!
• By Kalia Richardson and Sage Anderson

SZA and Keke Palmer Land Lead Roles in New Issa Rae-Produced Comedy Film

• TriStar Trifecta
• By Larisha Paul

Aaron Sorkin Blames Facebook for Jan. 6 and He's Trying to Write a 'Social Network' Sequel About It

• Drop The 'The'
• By Jon Blistein

Most Popular

Anne hathaway says 'gross' chemistry test in the 2000s required her to make out with 10 guys: that's the 'worst way to do it' and 'now we know better', louvre considers moving mona lisa to underground chamber to end 'public disappointment', 'the lord of the rings' trilogy returning to theaters, remastered and extended, sources gave an update on hugh jackman's 'love life' after fans raised concerns about his well-being, you might also like, taylor swift debuts with 2.61 million units for ‘the tortured poets department,’ the best number for any album in nine years, fit responds to protest on campus as unrest at colleges continues, the best yoga mats for any practice, according to instructors, ‘challengers’ is a ‘pure fantasy for me,’ says screenwriter justin kuritzkes, detroit sets nfl draft attendance record at 2024 event.

Rolling Stone is a part of Penske Media Corporation. © 2024 Rolling Stone, LLC. All rights reserved.

Verify it's you

Please log in.

We have opinions.

November 3, 2014 By Thibault Jalby 1 Comment

Xavier Dolan is a 25-year-old writer and director from Canada. He’s already produced of five movies  and won 36 awards   in festivals ranging from Toronto to Cannes. The phenomenal young filmmaker is back this year with Mommy . The film won the Jury Prize at the last Cannes Film Festival and was recently  selected to compete in the Best Foreign Language Film category for Canada at the 2015 Oscars ceremony.

To be clear, the mostly dithyrambic echoes  you may have heard from critics since the press screening at last year’s Cannes are true.   Mommy  represents something totally refreshing. As with his previous movies, Dolan uses old recipes in a new way to produce something original.

Mommy is the story of Diane Després (Anne Dorval), a feisty widowed single mom who finds herself burdened with the full-time custody of her unpredictable 15-year-old ADHD son, Steve (Antoine-Olivier Pilon). As they struggle to make ends meet, Kyla (Suzanne Clément), the peculiar new neighbor across the street, offers her help. Together, they find a new sense of balance as they struggle to regain hope: pure melodrama.

I’m not usually comfortable with melodramatics movies. I have a deep aversion for tearful or heartbreaking narratives full of pathos that conclude with abrupt and artificial happy endings. Nonetheless, some directors transcend this genre. Xavier Dolan, with his youthful brashness, is definitely one of them. Although  Mommy succeeds in provoking a whirlwind of feelings, a brilliant energy across the movie tempers the pathos with positivity.

Dolan’s universe is stylized with flashes of color inspired by pop art, slow motion, an omnipresent modern score and a square (1:1) frame. These aesthetic choices are Dolan’s stamp on  Mommy ; even when they change, they retain his fingerprints. For example, the frame changes from 1:1 to a standard CinemaScope frame (2:35:1) twice during the film. I can’t explain Dolan’s choice without spoiling the story, but I can say the shift works well in context and fits with his use of visual motif.

I appreciate when I see on the screen how intimately a director involves himself in his films. Dolan’s movies sweat with his personality. You can easily recognize his style as he translates all his visual and directorial energy to his actors. That strong sense of authorship is a point worthy of reproach for some critics – just ask anyone who doesn’t like Wes Anderson’s movies – but I find Dolan’s style appealing.

This energy most obviously manifests through cinematographer André Turpin’s camera movements. Long shots and shaky-cam are usually used to depict action in other films, but Dolan and Turpin use them here to reinforce sudden bursts of emotion. In other scenes, the camera’s motions increase in amplitude and fluidity to emphasize Steve’s sense of freedom; the skateboard and the shopping cart sequences use this technique particularly well.

The director is responsible for more than just managing the shots, however; his job also requires that he get the best possible turns from his actors. And Dolan, who began his career as a child actor, has an intimate understanding of the process. He proves once again that he has talent for his new métier as all three of his main actors deliver outstanding performances.

Dolan works with Anne Dorval and Suzanne Clément to add a sensitive touch to the movie. Dorval emotes from a wide palette of thoughts and feelings that embody Diane’s position as a tormented mother. Conversely, Clément is a firm counterbalance to the volatile relationship between Diane and Steve. Antoine-Olivier Pilon’s talent explodes onscreen as he embraces every facet of his extremely demanding character; working through Steve’s violent episodes while maintaining a sense of psychological realism isn’t easy, but Pilon is up to the task.

The main theme of the story is the dynamic between mother and son. Even as Steve’s condition means he’s sometimes totally out of control, Diane always tries maintain their relationship. Their back-and-forth seems like a one-way street. But maybe Steve is there for Diane, too? Maybe she hopes that her son, despite his health problems, can help her build a more stable life. Either way, the message is clear: love must always overcome madness.

Although Mommy is a melodrama, it also thrives as a comedy. Dolan makes you laugh while evoking powerful empathic reactions. In one scene, the main characters dance to Canadian icon Céline Dion in Diane’s kitchen. Even though Steve’s story is composed of tragic events, humor keeps the quieter moments lighthearted and fun.

Mommy is an intense movie. It acts on you like a storm, an approach that may leave some audiences exhausted by the film’s conclusion. But that’s where your come in: you can either plunge into Dolan’s kinetic world, or spare yourself the inevitable tears. You know what choice I made, and I don’t regret it for a second.

Movie Verdict: Win Score: 95%

Mommy  doesn’t have a U.S. wide release date yet. However, it will be shown at the Virginia Film Festival and at the American Film Institute Festival next week.

About Thibault Jalby

Thibault - pronounced "Teebo" - is Movie Fail's French connection. He writes film and television reviews from Lyon, the city where the Lumière brothers created the very first films over a century ago. He's also finishing architecture school this year.

About Us             Meet Our Staff             FAQs             Privacy

Flickering Myth

Geek Culture | Movies, TV, Comic Books & Video Games

Movie Review – Mommy (2014)

March 20, 2015 by Gary Collinson

Mommy , 2014.

Directed by Xavier Dolan. Starring Anne Dorval, Antoine-Olivier Pilon, Suzanne Clement and Patrick Huard.

A single mother, Diane (Dorval) has to take her ADHD-stricken son, Steve (Pilon), out of an imposed institution and attempt to look after him, whilst trying to get by with work and finances. The pair’s struggles are aided, in part, by a neighbour (Clement), who lends a supportive hand to the widow and son.

25 years old and already racing ahead with his ambitions, Xavier Dolan is rapidly gaining speed in the cinematic sphere. Every one of his films has competed in the Cannes Film Festival, and there’s little doubt as to this becoming a regular haunt for the young writer/director/actor. Mommy premiered early last year at the 67th Festival de Cannes, winning the Grand Jury Prize, entered into the main competition. He’s been regarded as a new Almodovar, has a classic British cinema style to his delivery, and makes raw, engaging films. For those looking for a new talent, Mommy should spotlight this. However, this is a sometimes brutal, somewhat alienating film at points, and will by no means make a splash upon release. It should, hopefully, garner Dolan a new, international audience (he is Quebecois) and bring to light the talents of the filmmaker and his excellent cast.

Before any acting is given a significant limelight, there is the matter of aspect ratio grabbing your attention. Mommy is presented in 1:1, slightly jarring for anyone watching just about anything on TV or in the cinema nowadays. It’s all very thematic, reflecting the limitations Diane and Steve are facing individually and together. It takes time to adjust, but do not be concerned by it, the artistic licence pays off expressively in several sequences.

Without ignoring any of the other artistic elements, Mommy is a film focused more on characters and those actors embodying them. Dolan writes strong women tactfully, always casting accordingly. Having worked with Anne Dorval before, there’s no surprise to see her alongside Dolan again. She is exceptionally compelling as Diane, a tough yet battered widow, struggling with just about everything yet still maintaining levelheadedness. There’s a moment where you can the emotional drain cracking the foundation of Diane’s composure, and it is a wonderfully subtle piece of cinema – Dolan holding on Dorval’s slow eruption of nerves.

This motif of tact and outburst runs throughout, most strikingly with Suzanne Clement’s stuttering neighbour. Moments of the Kyla character getting pushed around are saddening, but also tense. You can sense your own rage building up inside, thanks to Dolan’s abilities with empathy. It’s all a result of Antoine-Olivier Pilon’s erratic performance as Steve, a young teen with ADHD. You can either feel for Steve, or see him as a danger. Whatever the case, watching Pilon crash and dance into scenes is both poetic and nerve-wracking. You are hoping for them all to find the much-needed solace, pining for happiness all the way through.

With such drama comes moments of great heart – the very nature of Dolan’s filmography is to see beauty beyond disrepair. There is so much to love in the three characters; you can judge them, trust them, hate them, and admire them – an all-encompassing look at humanity. It hits home upon first viewing, but it is hard to imagine Mommy being something you could continually revisit. The end is set in such a way that you are left to think about the trio’s future, rather than re-assessing their past.

Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★

Piers McCarthy – Follow me on Twitter .

About Gary Collinson

Gary Collinson is a film, television and digital content producer and writer, founder of the pop culture website FlickeringMyth.com, and producer of the upcoming gothic horror feature film 'The Baby in the Basket'. He previously spent a decade teaching and lecturing in film and media, and is also the author of the book 'Holy Franchise, Batman! Bringing the Caped Crusader to the Screen'.

YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE:

Darkman: Revisiting Sam Raimi’s cult superhero movie

Five more sylvester stallone movies that need a sequel after cliffhanger, the return of the moderate budget action movie.

How Will Quentin Tarantino Bow Out?

Exploring George A. Romero’s Non-Zombie Movies

House of the Dragon Season 2: How Long Does Aegon II Targaryen Stay On the Throne in the Books?

Asian Shock Horror Movies You Have To See

The Most Obscure & Shocking John Waters Movies

Why is CGI Getting Worse?

The Craziest Takashi Miike Movies

• Comic Books
• Video Games
• Toys & Collectibles
• Articles and Opinions
• About Flickering Myth
• Write for Flickering Myth
• Advertise on Flickering Myth
• Terms of Use
• Privacy Policy

Sting (2024) Movie Review

Plot summary.

C harlotte, an odd tween living in Brooklyn, discovers a spider. We see it come from outer space, but to her, it is a random one that can mimic sounds, so she makes it a pet. One that she has no problems feeding the many roaches that infest the building her grandmother Helga, and Helga’s sister, Gunter own and Charlotte’s step-dad, is the building supervisor of.

But Charlotte never expected this spider, no bigger than her fingertip, to grow and grow, eventually wanting far more than a handful of roaches.

Character Guide

Character description(s).

Charlotte, an artist and comic book writer, lives and plays in an old apartment building owned by her grandmother or her grandmother’s sister. Her activities include traversing the building through the vents, figuring out her place in her new blended family, and creating ideas for new comic panels.

• The actor is also known for their role in “ The Secret Kingdom .”

Helga is Heather’s mother. She has memory issues that cause her to often forget who people are and what she is doing, and it creates comical moments.

Gunter is Helga’s sister and the owner of the building, who is known for being cheap, rude, and cold.

Ethan is the building supervisor for now. When he isn’t fixing sinks or the boiler, he is trying to work on the comic Charlotte created, for which he does the art.

• The actor is also known for their role in “ House of the Dragon: Season 1/ Episode 6 ‘The Princess and the Queen .’”

Heather is Charlotte’s mom, who recently had a second child and is back to work, trying to deal with her mother’s mental decline and her aunt’s attitude. All while dealing with Ethan trying to build a connection with Charlotte, navigating her daughter thinking her father is in Thailand, and Charlotte being difficult just because she can.

• The actor is also known for their role in “ Look Away .”

Good If You Like

• Horror movies featuring popular fears

Similar To This

• Love Death + Robots

Check out our movies page for our latest movie reviews and recommendations.

Charlotte Felt Like An Authentic Weird Kid

Weird kids in horror movies are expected as much as jump scares and things going silent before something happens. But, with kids, they can be very hit or miss. They become like Haley Joel Osment in his childhood horror films or one of the many you almost wish the killer would have gotten first – like Georgie in “ IT .”

As for Charlotte, you appreciate her because she is a weird kid in the best way. She draws cool comics, partly because her stepdad is an artist, and she looks up to him and while you can see her potentially being shown as this badass kid, they don’t allow the character to lose her humanity.

Charlotte is still someone who isn’t even a teenager yet, hanging onto the idea her biological father will come back, that her new younger sibling won’t replace her, and maybe her step-dad isn’t exploiting her ideas to make a career for himself.

Separate all the stuff with Charlotte’s pet spider, and you will see an interesting drama here.

Helga and Gunter Were Comical

With Helga and Gunter fitting Eastern European stereotypes, they play comic relief throughout the film. Helga is a kind, barely English-speaking woman who is slightly silly and lovable. Gunter? She is the cold European woman whose kindness is shown out of obligation.

But, despite Gunter being touted as a cheap slum lord, there are moments when she interacts with her sister Helga, drunk, or even with Charlotte, that can make you laugh. Are they funny enough to make this a horror and a comedy? No. However, Gunter and Helga do cause unexpected laughs.

On The Fence

Ethan and charlotte’s relationship.

The relationship between Ethan and Charlotte is, at times, a bit weird. You can see there is a level of closeness between them, but it’s also a horror movie. So as you watch him tuck her in, have her on his lap, and definitely take advantage of her creativity to boost his career, you are led to wonder if Ethan is being misjudged or if the film is building up to a reveal to make him potentially being killed justified.

It’s one of those things that makes you wonder if the spider will solely eat the bad people in the building who deserve to die.

Heather Was A Bit Of An Afterthought

Heather is Charlotte’s mother, Ethan’s partner, who you know exists, but doesn’t have much in character development. We know Charlotte’s father left her for unknown reasons, that she helps take care of her mother, Helga, and that she is employed in the kind of job that allows her to work from home.

But, as much as you can see Charlotte has a whole story that could exist without the horror element, Heather’s existence seemingly is only to boost Charlotte and barely be seen as a individual.

Background Information

Content Information

• Dialog: Cursing
• Violence: Violence Against Animals, Dismemberment, Blood
• Sexual Content: None
• Miscellaneous: Depiction of Corpses, Body Horror, Drinking

The post Sting (2024) Movie Review first appeared on Wherever I Look and is written by Amari Allah .

• Search Please fill out this field.
• Manage Your Subscription
• Give a Gift Subscription
• Newsletters
• Sweepstakes
• Entertainment

Lisa Rinna Terrifies as Mommy Meanest in Trailer for New Lifetime Movie with Daughter Delilah Hamlin

The Lifetime movie premieres on May 11

Lisa Rinna has a terrifying secret in the upcoming Lifetime movie Mommy Meanest .

The film — which was inspired by real-life events — chronicles a teenage girl who is cyberbullied , “only to discover the culprit behind the horrific texts is her very own mother,” according to an official synopsis.

“Divorced mother Madelyn (Rinna) and her daughter Mia (Briana Skye) have always had a tight bond. But when Mia starts spending more time with her new boyfriend and is on the verge of leaving for college, Madelyn is panicked by her emerging independence,” the official description reads. 

Jen Osborne and Allister Foster/A&E 

“When Mia starts to receive a barrage of degrading texts, as a protective mother, Madelyn is determined to find out who is harassing her daughter and will do anything to help her, bringing them closer together again,” the synopsis continues. “As the hundreds of texts become more threatening, Mia begins to wonder if her tormentor is someone closer than she could have ever imagined."

The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills alum’s daughter Delilah Hamlin , whom she shares with husband Harry Hamlin, plays Mia’s friend Summer.

The trailer begins with Mia standing in front of her classmates and mother, saying, “We're all in this together. And bullying has no place in anyone's lives.” After watching the speech, Madelyn tells her daughter, “You never cease to amaze me” and Mia replies, “I got it from my mother.”

Mia soon starts receiving a barrage of hateful messages and she confides in her friend Summer, saying, “You have no idea the level of message I’m getting” and Summer replies, “I’m really sorry, Mia, for everything that you’re going through.”

A close-up of a text message — which reads “By the time you realize who this is, it’ll be too late” — is seen before it is revealed that Madelyn is behind the messages. 

Despite her secret, Madelyn pretends to be the concerned mother, telling her daughter, “We have to report this and figure out who this is” and “You cannot let one crazy person define who you are.”

Mia realizes the situation is “getting out of control” and asks her mother, “Why do people hate me so much?”

But, Madelyn insists they are “going to get through this.”

Since announcing her exit from RHOBH after season 12 in January 2023, Rinna has returned to acting , appearing in the anthology series American Horror Stories . She executive produced Mommy Meanest in addition to starring in the TV movie. She has also dabbled in modeling, walking in runway shows and appearing in fashion campaigns.

Back in February, Rinna was thrilled to announce she was sharing the screen with her daughter, who made several appearances on the Bravo reality show. "I’m so excited to share this! 😍 🎭🎬" Rinna wrote beside a celebratory post . "Let's goooooo."

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Mommy Meanest airs Saturday, May 11 at 8 p.m. ET on Lifetime.

Related Articles

• Cast & crew
• User reviews

Back to Black

The life and music of Amy Winehouse, through the journey of adolescence to adulthood and the creation of one of the best-selling albums of our time. The life and music of Amy Winehouse, through the journey of adolescence to adulthood and the creation of one of the best-selling albums of our time. The life and music of Amy Winehouse, through the journey of adolescence to adulthood and the creation of one of the best-selling albums of our time.

• Sam Taylor-Johnson
• Matt Greenhalgh
• Marisa Abela
• Eddie Marsan
• Jack O'Connell
• 56 User reviews
• 63 Critic reviews
• 49 Metascore

• Amy Winehouse

• Mitch Winehouse

• Blake Fielder-Civil

• Cynthia Winehouse

• Joey the dealer

• Nick Shymansky

• Janis Winehouse

• Raye Cosbert

• Chris Taylor

• Artist Development Man
• Aunt Melody

• Perfume Paul

• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

More like this

Did you know

• Trivia Marisa Abela had done most of the singing in this film herself. She trained extensively to mimic Amy Winehouse 's vocals.

Technical specs

• Runtime 2 hours 2 minutes

Related news

Contribute to this page.

• See more gaps
• Learn more about contributing

More to explore

Recently viewed

‘Mother Play’ Review: Jessica Lange Is an Unhinged Delight in Dysfunctional Family Drama on Broadway

By Aramide Tinubu

Aramide Tinubu

• ‘Mother Play’ Review: Jessica Lange Is an Unhinged Delight in Dysfunctional Family Drama on Broadway 3 days ago
• ‘Mary Jane’ Review: Rachel McAdams Makes a Solid Broadway Debut Depicting the Sacrifice of Motherhood 5 days ago
• ‘Hell’s Kitchen’ Review: Alicia Keys Musical Brings a Vibrant Depiction of Teen Girlhood to Broadway 1 week ago

There is no handbook on motherhood, but most people try their best when it comes to childrearing. Today, amid increasingly accessible resources and freedoms that weren’t afforded in the past, parenting has undoubtedly changed. However, “Mother Play,” written by Paula Vogel , is not a story about modern-day mothers. Instead, it’s a tale centering on a bitter, disillusioned woman, Phyllis ( Jessica Lange ), who feels duped by the circumstances of her life. Directed by Tina Landu, “Mother Play” showcases how Phyllis’ resentments trickle into her relationships with her two children, Carl ( Jim Parsons ) and Martha ( Celia Keenan-Bolger ).

Popular on Variety

The performances also reign tall in “Mother Play,” even when the storylines seem on the verge of teetering too far toward melodrama. Lange is magnificent in her depiction of a woman who, across the decades, can’t quite reconcile what her life or her children have become. Meanwhile, Parsons is delightful as Carl, a man wholly at ease with his sexuality and passions. Keenan-Bolger’s Martha rounds out the family. Her stoic steadiness throughout grates at Phyllis’ overbearing disposition and sets up the perfect tension for the mother and daughter’s fraught relationship. 

While most of the production works flawlessly, there are two major missteps. Because viewers are well aware of the time periods (Martha calls out the years throughout the show’s 105-minute run time), some of the major plot points are highly predictable, taking away the story’s emotional power. Moreover, one particular scene of Phyllis at home alone simply doesn’t work. The segment is supposed to depict her loneliness and isolation, but the wordless 10 minutes is overlong and dull, belaboring a point that could have been made in less than half the time. 

Still, despite its imperfections, “Mother Play” is a genuinely engaging examination of a family trying to find equilibrium. It honors the glimmers and low points of mothering and explains why, in some cases, the role is transposed onto those who were never called to it in the first place. 

Hayes Theater, 597, $318 top. Opened April 25, 2024. Reviews April 20. Running time: 1 HOUR 45 MINS.

• Production: A 2nd Stage presentation of a play in one act by Paula Vogel.
• Crew: Directed by Tina Landau. Set, David Zeen; costumes, Toni-Leslie James; hair & wig design, Matthew Armentrout; lights, Jen Schriever; sound design, Jill Bc Du Boff; projection design, Shawn Duan; voice coach, Gigi Buffington; production stage manager, Bryan Bauer.
• Cast: Celia Keenan-Bolger, Jessica Lange, Jim Parsons.

More From Our Brands

Rihanna again teases new album ‘r9’: ‘it’s gonna be amazing’, meet hollywood power couple david and jessica oyelowo, detroit sets nfl draft attendance record at 2024 event, be tough on dirt but gentle on your body with the best soaps for sensitive skin, survivor: jeff probst announces season 50 will be returning players, verify it's you, please log in.

• Entertainment
• Celebrities
• Ticket Sales
• Promoted: What to Watch on Prime Video

Recommended

Johnny Oleksinski

‘mary jane’ review: rachel mcadams is a strong mom in teary broadway play.

• View Author Archive
• Get author RSS feed

Thanks for contacting us. We've received your submission.

Ninety minutes with no intermission. At the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, <br>261 W. 47th St. <br>Through June 2.

Rachel McAdams brings an instantly heartbreaking quality to her performance in “Mary Jane”: Her steadfast optimism.

Writer Amy Herzog’s affecting play, which opened Tuesday night on Broadway at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, is about a single mother whose 2-year-old son Alex is chronically ill. 

The poor kid, who the audience never fully sees, spends most of the drama in another room in bed, attached to monitors and oxygen tanks that beep and hiss. At this point in his young life, he can’t even control his head yet.

His mom Mary Jane’s (McAdams) entire existence, with nary a break to relax, revolves around the boy’s care. Nurses, friends and her superintendent stop by to talk and support her. And they help, of course, but they don’t change the hard reality of the situation. Unlike Mary Jane, they have lives on the other side of the door.

One of the woman’s many sad-but-clear-eyed observations is that she has become accustomed to hardly ever sleeping in her tiny New York apartment. “I used to be someone who treasured sleep,” she tells a nurse named Ruthie (Brenda Wehle). “Cherished it.”

Now, she can barely remember the sensation.

The depth that McAdams gives Mary Jane, in the most natural way, is her positivity. In the film “The Notebook,” in the TV series “Slings & Arrows” and even as the Plastic villain in the movie “Mean Girls,” the actress has always had a je ne sais quoi that goes beyond openness and vulnerability. She emanates a light from within.

And when it shines, not on a romance or teen comedy, but a relatable mother’s helplessness, we’re shattered.

Compassionately told by Herzog, the play is a tough story about a struggling single parent of limited means muddling through one day at a time. The show, I’ll admit, takes more than one day to fully sink in.

“Mary Jane” is not a vehicle for showboating, or some explosive Mom vs. Society battle, and rightly so. Herzog’s drama is calm, and made up of slice-of-life conversations familiar to anybody who’s been a caretaker or knows one. 

And at times, I found director Anne Kauffman’s production too quiet for the Friedman, intimate though the venue is. Even a simmering show needs to build, and the middle of “Mary Jane” leans static.

But the play achieves a devastating serenity in the end when we leave the apartment and, in a scenically impressive transition from designer Lael Jellinek, move to the pediatric intensive care unit of a hospital, or PICU.

While Alex is in surgery, Mary Jane speaks to a comforting Buddhist chaplain named Tenkei, played by Wehle in a turn as stunningly transformational as the set. 

Tenkei asks Mary Jane to describe her son — I tear up just thinking about it — and as the frightened mother talks about his stubbornness, his love of animals and his smile, the stage’s brightness dims.

But McAdams’ light doesn’t.

Share this article:

Common Sense Media

Movie & TV reviews for parents

• For Parents
• For Educators
• Our Work and Impact

Or browse by category:

• Get the app
• Movie Reviews
• Best Movie Lists
• Best Movies on Netflix, Disney+, and More

Common Sense Selections for Movies

50 Modern Movies All Kids Should Watch Before They're 12

• Best TV Lists
• Best TV Shows on Netflix, Disney+, and More
• Common Sense Selections for TV
• Video Reviews of TV Shows

Best Kids' Shows on Disney+

Best Kids' TV Shows on Netflix

• Book Reviews
• Best Book Lists
• Common Sense Selections for Books

8 Tips for Getting Kids Hooked on Books

50 Books All Kids Should Read Before They're 12

• Game Reviews
• Best Game Lists

Common Sense Selections for Games

• Video Reviews of Games

Nintendo Switch Games for Family Fun

• Podcast Reviews
• Best Podcast Lists

Common Sense Selections for Podcasts

Parents' Guide to Podcasts

• App Reviews
• Best App Lists

Social Networking for Teens

Gun-Free Action Game Apps

Reviews for AI Apps and Tools

• YouTube Channel Reviews
• YouTube Kids Channels by Topic

Parents' Ultimate Guide to YouTube Kids

YouTube Kids Channels for Gamers

• Preschoolers (2-4)
• Little Kids (5-7)
• Big Kids (8-9)
• Pre-Teens (10-12)
• Teens (13+)
• Screen Time
• Social Media
• Online Safety
• Identity and Community

Explaining the News to Our Kids

• Family Tech Planners
• Digital Skills
• All Articles
• Latino Culture
• Black Voices
• Asian Stories
• Native Narratives
• LGBTQ+ Pride
• Best of Diverse Representation List

Celebrating Black History Month

Movies and TV Shows with Arab Leads

Celebrate Hip-Hop's 50th Anniversary

Unsung hero, common sense media reviewers.

Christian music biopic focuses on overcoming adversity.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Largely provides "soft skills" lessons about the v

Positive messages throughout, some faith-based, in

Mother Helen largely takes things in stride when f

The Smallbones are a White Australian Christian fa

One character smacks another during an emotional a

Plot revolves around a married couple and their re

Parents need to know that Unsung Hero is the real-life origin story of Christian musical siblings Rebecca St. James and For King & Country's Joel and Luke Smallbone. It focuses on their family's humble beginnings, especially their parents' struggles during a difficult financial and emotional time. The…

Educational Value

Largely provides "soft skills" lessons about the value of perseverance and teamwork.

Positive Messages

Positive messages throughout, some faith-based, including: "Dream big, but don't let your dream be your master," "family are not in the way, they are the way," and "God makes everything beautiful in its time." But the biggest takeaway is that perseverance, teamwork, and faith (in God and/or one another) will get you through. One heads' up: The movie makes it clear who's really behind Santa's gifts at Christmas.

Positive Role Models

Mother Helen largely takes things in stride when financial difficulties set in and is the glue that keeps the family together. The seven kids in the tight-knit family never fight or argue, and they support their parents in every way, including cleaning houses and doing yard work to pay the rent and put food on the table. Dad David works hard to address the financial situation, humbling himself to clean houses of important people in his industry. Helen and David do argue occasionally, sometimes heatedly. Ultimately, three of the kids grow up to be successful Christian music acts. Church members, particularly one couple, are compassionate, thoughtful, and generous in their assistance and support to helping this large family transition and survive.

Diverse Representations

The Smallbones are a White Australian Christian family who move to Nashville; most of their friends and family are also White and Christian. People of color are depicted positively but in small, one-scene roles, such as a compassionate Black billing administrator and an Asian American obstetrician.

Did we miss something on diversity? Suggest an update.

Violence & Scariness

One character smacks another during an emotional argument. When going through airport customs and border patrol, the family is briefly taken aside, with the father interviewed separately from the mother and children to ensure that everything is on the up and up; this is depicted as scary.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Plot revolves around a married couple and their relationship during a difficult time; they demonstrate that love means sticking together when life gets tough. Kiss between married couple.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Unsung Hero is the real-life origin story of Christian musical siblings Rebecca St. James and For King & Country's Joel and Luke Smallbone. It focuses on their family's humble beginnings, especially their parents' struggles during a difficult financial and emotional time. The movie is full of positive messages, many of them faith-based; the biggest takeaway is that perseverance, teamwork, and humility are what gets us through adversity. Some arguments get heated -- during one, one spouse slaps another -- but there's really no other iffy content to speak of, so the film is appropriate for most ages. That said, it's also a story about the challenges of adulting, so kids -- particularly those unfamiliar with St. James and the Smallbones -- may not be fully engaged. And one additional warning: Secrets about Santa are made pretty clear. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

Where to Watch

Videos and photos.

Community Reviews

• Parents say (2)
• Kids say (1)

Based on 2 parent reviews

A MUST SEE! Thank you for turning your story into A movie for us

Great to watch as a family.

We were able to bring 9 of our children to watch this in the theatre. Ages 6-18. Our 6 yo has been singing the songs and sharing what she loved. I've grown accustomed to a lower quality film in order to have a good message- this was so well done! I loved the strong hopeful message of supporting and walking with your family through hard times. Would go back and watch it again!

What's the Story?

In UNSUNG HERO, successful Christian music promoter David Smallbone (played by his real-life son, Joel Smallbone , who also co-wrote and co-directed the film) goes broke in the early 1990s after putting all of his family's financial eggs into a basket that seems like a "sure thing": promoting Amy Grant 's Australian music tour at the height of the megastar's popularity. Needing a fresh beginning, Smallbone moves his pregnant wife, Helen ( Daisy Betts ), and six children from Australia to Nashville. Starting over with nothing, Helen positions the family's change in circumstances as an adventure, and -- with her as their rock -- they all work together to get back on their feet.

Is It Any Good?

In making a heartfelt movie that's a tribute to his own mother, For King & Country musician Joel Smallbone motivates viewers to realize the enormity of what it means to take care of a family. With seven children and a husband in crisis, Helen Smallbone is working overtime and, as perfectly played by Betts, demonstrates total mom goals. Ultimately, Unsung Hero plays more as a biopic than a faith-based film. Yes, the setting is the Christian music industry, and the "characters" are Christian -- but things such as the kids' prayer wall for things like "make things cheap" come off more as cute kid stuff than proselytizing. In fact, for a wholly a faith-based film, Unsung Hero doesn't feel preachy whatsoever. Still, despite the lack of iffy content, for many kids, this "mom movie" about the power of family may be too adult-focused to keep them entertained.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about how the Smallbones family demonstrates perseverance and teamwork to get through their hard times. Why are those important character strengths?

What does David's dad mean when he advises, "Dream big, but don't let dreams be your master"?

What is pride, and when is it positive or negative? How is humility demonstrated in the movie, and why is that an important character trait?

Who is the movie's "unsung hero"? Why?

What does the Smallbones' story teach us about financial risk vs. responsbility?

Movie Details

• In theaters : April 26, 2024
• Cast : Daisy Betts , Joel Smallbone , Kirrilee Berger
• Directors : Richard L. Ramsey , Joel Smallbone
• Inclusion Information : Female actors
• Studio : Lionsgate
• Genre : Drama
• Topics : Brothers and Sisters , Great Girl Role Models , Music and Sing-Along
• Character Strengths : Compassion , Humility , Perseverance , Teamwork
• Run time : 115 minutes
• MPAA rating : PG
• MPAA explanation : thematic elements
• Last updated : March 13, 2024

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

Suggest an Update

Our editors recommend.

The Sound of Music

I Still Believe

I Can Only Imagine

The Partridge Family

Faith-based movies, movies about musicians, related topics.

• Perseverance
• Brothers and Sisters
• Great Girl Role Models
• Music and Sing-Along

Want suggestions based on your streaming services? Get personalized recommendations

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.