Mother's Day

Starring: Rebecca De Mornay, Jaime King, Shawn Ashmore, Patrick John Flueger, Warren Kole, Deborah Ann woll, Frank Grillo

Synopsis:

Following a disastrous bank robbery attempt that leaves one of their number critically wounded, three brothers head for their childhood home to take refuge until the dust settles. What they don’t know is their mother (De Mornay) recently lost possession of the house in a foreclosure and no longer lives there. Instead, they stumble across the new owners, a young couple, and their guests who are in the middle of birthday celebration. Seeing no alternative, the brothers take the partygoers hostage before contacting their mother to explain their dilemma. Willing to do anything to protect her offspring, mother arrives at the scene, along with her only daughter (Woll), and immediately takes control of the situation while masterminding a plan to help her family escape across the border from the US into Canada. Unfortunately for the hostages, mother’s plot requires some serious funding and she’s determined to get hold of it any way she can. So begins a long night of psychological terror in which loyalties are tested, secrets are revealed and sins are punished by a deeply disturbed woman with maternal instincts that can only be described as murderous.

Review:

Mother’s Day is the second top notch movie I’ve seen this month dealing with a horrific family lead by a charismatic, overbearing monster.

Let’s start with Rebecca De Mornay. Even though she has proved a successful actress on both tv series and movies, the film you automatically think of when you hear her mentioned is The Hand that Rocks The Cradle*, in which she unsettled new parents everywhere with her sinister nanny. I have a feeling that her performance in that film has now been eclipsed here.

It soon becomes apparent though that she is the brains, and has no morals or mercy. De Mornay’s performance is amazing – full of homespun wisdom that she twists into harrowing moments of torture.

Beth and Daniel Sohapi are holding a birthday party in their basement, on the eve of a hurricane hitting the area. Luckily they’ve installed new “hurricane proof” windows, which can’t be shattered...They’ve invited their close friends, and are having a good time until the Koffin boys burst in. There is a large number of hostages trapped in the house, and their relationships aren’t as cut and dried as you’d expect. There’s a lot of push and pull between them as they argue whether to try and escape and take their chances, or try and protect those absent by doing as they’re told. There are a number of plot developments which also muddy the waters as to who is likely to be bulletproof in the eyes of the script. As the situation worsens, so does the human nature of the hostages, as they become more spiteful and selfish, and I found myself rooting for one character in particular above all others (I won’t say who).

There’s a lot going on in Mother’s Day , and the script does a good job of keeping track of everyone. It’s been suggested that the film loses some of it’s claustrophobic atmosphere when certain characters are sent on an errand to get money, but this spins into its own cat and mouse tale which still impinges on what is happening back in the house.

Mother’s Day is a very violent film, with some nasty shootings, moments of intense torture and a serious Battle Royale of a finish. My particular favourite moment is a demonstration that a kitchen door isn’t very good at stopping a shotgun!

Verdict

I think this should sum up my feelings for the film – Mother’s Day’s ending mirrors it’s opening scene, delivering an epilogue which seemed inevitable as the film winds down. However, as soon as it ended, I could see how a possible sequel could work. And I demand that sequel. Now.

9 out of 10 (MikeOutWest)

(* okay, for people of a certain age, her defining role remains Lana in Risky Business!)

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