Mothering Sunday
Set over a day in 1924, the story follows Jane Fairchild, a maid in the Niven household, who has the day off to celebrate Mothering Sunday while Mr. and Mrs. Niven attend a lunch to celebrate the engagement of their neighbour’s only remaining son, Paul, to Emma Hobday. Jane rejoices at her freedom on an unseasonably hot, beautiful spring day. But, she has no mother to go to. For almost seven years she has – joyfully and without shame – been Paul’s lover. Like the Nivens, Paul belongs to England’s old money aristocracy, whereas Jane was orphaned at birth. With the house conveniently empty, they can finally meet in Paul’s bedroom for the first time. Today will be their last as lovers. It is also the day that will mark the beginning of Jane’s transformation as the story unfolds through the hours of clandestine passion.
- Released: 2021-11-12
- Runtime: 110 minutes
- Genre: Drama, Romance
- Stars: Odessa Young, Josh O'Connor, Olivia Colman, Colin Firth, Glenda Jackson, Sope Dirisu, Nathan Reeve, Samuel Barlow, Dexter Raggatt, Patsy Ferran, Charlie Oscar, Emma D'Arcy, Simon Shepherd, Caroline Harker, Craig Crosbie, Emily Woof, Alex Cubb, Forrest Bothwell, Albert Welling, Sarita Gabony, Steve Brody
- Director: Eva Husson
Comments
- heywatchmego - 10 July 2023
Firth and Colman Yes, the Rest...
The scenery is incredible, as is the performances of Colin Firth and Olivia Colman.
The rest of the movie is incredibly disjointed, and because there is no actual emotion or feeling between the two main characters, Odessa Young and Josh O'Connor, it quickly became annoying. There is only so much cigarette smoking a person can watch before you realize, I suppose, this is the point where the viewer is supposed to be emotionally touched. The problem is, I wasn't. Ever.
This felt like going to a beautiful restaurant and waiting so long for your meal that by the time it's gets there you want to throw the plate on the floor.
Much of the movie is beyond belief, such as the maidservant (who, between the wars, works for the wealthy Niven family), wandering naked through a manor house, seemingly unconcerned that the owners may show up...for over an hour.
At every turn, I kept thinking, here it is, we must be getting to the point...but 'the point' simply never happened.
A waste of talent and scenery, however it is worth watching simply for the performances of Firth and Colman. They are outstanding. - SnoopyStyle - 9 September 2022
she's naked a lot
It's 1924. Jane Fairchild (Odessa Young) is a maid working for the Nivens (Olivia Colman, Colin Firth) at their estate. She has a secret fling with upper class neighbor Paul Sheringham (Josh O'Connor). The war has taken many young men in the community. Paul is set to marry Emma Hobday who is equal to his station but neither are excited for the nuptial. Later in life, Jane is struggling to write about her loves and is married to Donald.
Odessa Young is naked a lot. That's my main takeaway from this movie. I'm trying not to be creepy but she is naked a lot, lot. I'm saying this because it's a lot of quietly walking around naked. It's repetitive. Instead of that, the movie could have dug more into the Nivens. They have some great actors here but they're only given a couple of scene to stretch out their acting skills. Colman and Firth are great but they only have good material in a few scenes. Odessa Young is a fine actress. She does fine work but most guys will only remember nakedness from this performance. This is trying to be a moody sensitive piece about romance and love lost. I guess it achieves the tone but it doesn't do more. They could have done so much more if they simply cut out most of her naked scenes and inject some dialogue.
