The Mother (R) (112 min.) - The basis for Roger Michell's film sounds like a Jerry Springer Show episode: a 60ish widow (Anne Reid) begins an affair with her daughter's lover, a married man half her age. From that outrageous behavior, Michell spins a quiet, deliberately paced take on deception, enlightenment and delusion. Unlike Springer's guests, only one punch is thrown and confrontations are set in British propriety, yet there isn't a likable character in the bunch.
May (Reid) frowns through the first half of the film, setting up her dreary life caring for an ailing husband (Peter Vaughan). When her hormones rally for a late sexual reawakening, the smile on her face melts years away. She's sympathetic until her desire focuses on Darren (Daniel Craig), a boozy carpenter working on her son's home. May sees Darren having sex with her daughter Paula (Cathryn Bradshaw), and the initial concerns of a protective mother turn into curiosity.
And why not? May and Darren spend a lot of time talking, sharing tea, realizing they have much in common. Sex isn't an immediate temptation but when it kicks in, it's highly satisfying. Under other circumstances, they might make a great May-December couple. But the affair can't remain a secret and creates tension on several levels that Michell handles slowly, allowing a fine cast to explore their pain and their expanding (or receding) senses of morality.
Reid is excellent in a dicey role, playing grandmother and, as Darren affectionately calls May, an old tart. Reid's ability to convey May's excitement, shame and apprehension is impressive. Bradshaw matches her with a more outwardly intense performance, and it's no accident that as May looks younger with sexual afterglow, Paula looks older, left haggard by inattention. That powerful dynamic, concentrated in the second half, is the best part of Michell's film.
Michell could easily condense the first hour of The Mother because the actors and Hanif Kureishi's screenplay establish this family's lingering problems early, then lives with them a bit too long. The film, like May's life, gets a much needed charge when Darren joins her in bed. The sex scenes are restrained to minor nudity and orgasmic sounds but the taboo nature of the relationship makes them seems dirtier. The Mother is depressing for that, as it should be. It's merely part of the honesty Michell invests in topics that proper folks would prefer to avoid. Grade: B-plus
