Four Mothers (2024) – Film Review

Director: Darren Thornton
Cast: James McArdle, Fionnula Flanagan, Anne Nolan
Certificate: 15

By Sarah Morgan

If you’re looking for explosions, hi-octane excitement and a thrill-a-second, then Four Mothers is not for you.

However, if something with more gentle charms floats your boat, then make sure you catch Four Mothers, a low-key but charming directorial debut from Darren Thornton, who co-wrote the screenplay with his brother Colin.

“Hard look at his life”

It’s an Irish adaptation of the acclaimed 2008 Italian movie Mid-August Lunch, with James McArdle as Edward, a gay man who remained at home to help care for his father. Then, after he passed away, his mother Alma had a stroke that robbed her of her speech, so he’s still there, tending to her every need, which she conveys via a speech-generating app.

Edward doesn’t seem to resent this, he simply sees it as his lot in life, but that may change; he’s written a well-received coming-of-age YA novel and his publisher wants him to go on a US book tour. While considering his next move, Edward’s self-centred friends and his therapist dump their own matriarchs on him while they go partying at a Pride event on the continent.

Only now, with four elderly women to deal with instead of just one, he takes a long, hard look at his life, particularly after his ex-boyfriend Raf, who has been helping him with his caring duties, reveals he’s leaving the country with his new love.

“Beautifully performed”

Eventually, Edward shocks Alma with an out-of-character outburst which will, hopefully, make them both realise that something has to change.

It’s an enjoyable film, but describing it is tricky – it has funny moments but isn’t sharp enough to be a comedy, but neither is it gritty enough to be a kitchen sink drama. It is, however, a beautifully performed piece, with everyone on top form, particularly by McArdle’s aged co-stars – Fionnula Flanagan, Dearbhla Molloy, Paddy Glynn and Stella McCusker. The one jarring note is Niamh Cusack, who has a cameo as a fake medium in a scene that appears to exist only to push the running time up to feature-length. It certainly adds nothing to the story.

Special features include an in-depth interview with McArdle about his career, as well as two impressive short films made by the Thornton brothers.

Sarah Morgan

Sarah Morgan studied film journalism at post-graduate level with the BFI and has been writing about TV and film for PA Media’s newspaper, magazine and new media customers since 1996. She’s also written for a wide range of other publications, both online and in print, including the book Offbeat and Intermission magazine, and is a regular contributor to the Talking Pictures TV podcast. When she isn’t watching movies, she’s collecting and reading vintage crime and horror paperback books or, for her sins, watching her beloved Sheffield Wednesday.

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