Mothering Sunday (MA15+, 104 minutes)
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
3 stars
This film, based on Graham Swift's novel, reminded of two earlier literary adaptations: The Go-Between (1971) and Atonement (2007). The three films have much in common, dealing as they do with the deleterious effects of the British class system on love as well as shifts in time and the tragedy of war and loss.
Mothering Sunday, adapted by Alice Birch and directed by Eva Husson, isn't as good as its predecessors: its story is slighter and more fragmented and it lacks the other films' emotional punch. But that's not to say it's bad - it's just not on the same level.
In 1924, orphaned Jane Fairchild (Odessa Young) works as a maid for wealthy couple Godfrey and Clarrie Niven (Colin Firth and Olivia Colman). Their sons were killed in World War I and Clarrie remains consumed by grief while Godfrey affects a constant cheery politesse as his way of coping.
The romance between Jane and Paul is doomed but passionate, emotional as well as physical.
Jane is given the day off on Mothering Sunday to do as she pleases and tells Mr Niven she will go on a bike ride. She only travels as far as the nearby estate of the Sheringhams, friends of the Nivens.
She's been carrying on a longtime affair with Paul Sheringham (Josh O'Connor), the sole surviving son, whose two brothers also died in the war. He's expected to marry Emma Hobday (Emma D'Arcy), who was unofficially engaged to one of the Niven boys. She is presently having lunch with the Nivens and the Sheringhams who expect his arrival: he's made the excuse that he's doing some swotting for his law exams before coming.
The romance between Jane and Paul is doomed but passionate, emotional as well as physical.
It's interesting to see sex and nudity depicted from a female rather than male directorial point of view, with both O'Connor and Young's characters baring all in more ways than one.
Young also plays Jane somewhat later in life (and is very convincing at both stages). Always a keen reader when she could get the time and the books, Jane has left the Nivens to go work in a bookshop where she met Donald (Sope Dirisu), a philosopher. They married and she has become a writer. Will she draw inspiration from her past for her latest work? And are there parallels between her two loves?
Fans of Firth and Colman might be disappointed at how small their roles are, particularly Colman, but they're significant in delineating the theme of loss and, like the rest of the cast, their performances are excellent.
Veteran star Glenda Jackson plays the much older Jane in a curious epilogue that doesn't really add much. It's hard not to compare this to another acting legend, Vanessa Redgrave, and her role in Atonement which made much more of an impact.
The timeshifting in Mothering Sunday isn't hard to follow but perhaps it contributes to the somewhat unsatisfying impression the film finally makes. British understatement is all very well but the filmmakers here focus on imagery - often effectively - at the expense of character and emotion: we don't learn enough about the main characters' inner lives or even their outer ones to become totally invested in them.