Starring: Uma Thurman, Anthony Edwards, Minnie Driver
Written & Directed By: Katherine Diekmann
Grade: C+
I find it funny that for a film called Motherhood, the film at Sundance that dealt with the meaning with much more intelligence was the horror film, Grace. Motherhood is very much a one note film. It is a decent movie that has a very hectic tone that works with the situation to a certain extent, but ultimately holds the film back.
Eliza (Thurman), a mother of two, has a very crazy day in front of her. She has a massive list of things she has to get done, most of which revolve around her children. It is her daughter’s birthday so she has to get the party ready as well. She still needs to get decorations, the cake, and several other things. Also, she regularly blogs every day about what her day is like. When she does this she finds an opportunity to get paid to blog if she can turn in an essay about what motherhood means to her by the end of the day. During the day she also has to take care of her son as well since he is not in school yet. So the question is whether or not Eliza can get done everything her kids need her to as well as getting her writing done for herself. She used to be a writer professionally, but it has been quite a long time since she has been able to write. Eliza is hoping this will be her opportunity to get back in to it. Eliza’s car ends up getting towed since they are filming on her block. Now she has to ride her bike and forth for all of the errands she still needs to get done to get ready for the party. Her husband is no help at all and puts everything on her shoulders. Throughout the day, things just seem to be piling up more and more, driving her sanity away further.
Uma Thurman did pretty well with what she was given, although I think her character could have been developed a lot more. She does work with all of the crisis well and is believable as Eliza. Minnie Driver gave the best performance as Eliza’s best friend. She added some much needed comic relief and just had great energy and charisma. Even the way she delivered her language helped give the film a more comedic and light hearted tone. Anthony Edwards does pretty well as the neglecting husband. He does pin a lot of the responsibility on his wife, but he does show a caring side to him as well. Jodie Foster has a pretty random cameo as the mother of one of the kids that goes to the same school as Thurman’s child. The paparazzi swarm around her and her one line is just screaming at them.
There is a certain amount of humor in how hectic and overwhelming things are, but is played up for most of the movie and the joke doesn’t stay fresh through all of this time. The film does have its’ funny moments, particularly when Eliza is at the store getting things for her daughters party. It shows retail hell and how aggravating people can be at the worst times. When Eliza comes back with all of her overwhelmingly number of bags, a young man who was working on the film shoot that was going on in her street helps Eliza with the bags. There is very interesting interactions between the two. The boy talks to her about her writing and her life. He helps bring out that inner youth, joy, and independence in her just in the very brief moments that he is in the film. He stood out as one of the most powerful characters/actors in the film and he was only on screen for a matter of minutes. I really wish they would have done more with this as it could made up for that missing element that was just barely holding the film back. I suppose they didn’t do this to avoid any type of suspicions of an affair or simply awkward feelings because of the age difference. Still, I feel like having this extra angle to the film would have helped it a lot more than it would have hurt it.
I think for those who are mothers will probably be able to enjoy this movie more than those who aren’t, just for that relating quality, being able to compare it to moments in their own lives where things became this hectic. I found it amusing and I did feel for Eliza to an extent, wanting her to be a good mother as well as do something for herself. One of the biggest problems that Eliza’s big triumph seemed so miniscule. She was a published and respected author. Basically writing a journal about little parts of her day didn’t seem to be too rewarding. Starting to work on another book or covering something that really made an impact is the type of payoff that her character needed. By resorting so much lower than this made it seem like a weak conclusion. Personally, I didn’t feel like it gave Eliza a chance to grow.
Written & Directed By: Katherine Diekmann
Grade: C+
I find it funny that for a film called Motherhood, the film at Sundance that dealt with the meaning with much more intelligence was the horror film, Grace. Motherhood is very much a one note film. It is a decent movie that has a very hectic tone that works with the situation to a certain extent, but ultimately holds the film back.
Eliza (Thurman), a mother of two, has a very crazy day in front of her. She has a massive list of things she has to get done, most of which revolve around her children. It is her daughter’s birthday so she has to get the party ready as well. She still needs to get decorations, the cake, and several other things. Also, she regularly blogs every day about what her day is like. When she does this she finds an opportunity to get paid to blog if she can turn in an essay about what motherhood means to her by the end of the day. During the day she also has to take care of her son as well since he is not in school yet. So the question is whether or not Eliza can get done everything her kids need her to as well as getting her writing done for herself. She used to be a writer professionally, but it has been quite a long time since she has been able to write. Eliza is hoping this will be her opportunity to get back in to it. Eliza’s car ends up getting towed since they are filming on her block. Now she has to ride her bike and forth for all of the errands she still needs to get done to get ready for the party. Her husband is no help at all and puts everything on her shoulders. Throughout the day, things just seem to be piling up more and more, driving her sanity away further.
Uma Thurman did pretty well with what she was given, although I think her character could have been developed a lot more. She does work with all of the crisis well and is believable as Eliza. Minnie Driver gave the best performance as Eliza’s best friend. She added some much needed comic relief and just had great energy and charisma. Even the way she delivered her language helped give the film a more comedic and light hearted tone. Anthony Edwards does pretty well as the neglecting husband. He does pin a lot of the responsibility on his wife, but he does show a caring side to him as well. Jodie Foster has a pretty random cameo as the mother of one of the kids that goes to the same school as Thurman’s child. The paparazzi swarm around her and her one line is just screaming at them.
There is a certain amount of humor in how hectic and overwhelming things are, but is played up for most of the movie and the joke doesn’t stay fresh through all of this time. The film does have its’ funny moments, particularly when Eliza is at the store getting things for her daughters party. It shows retail hell and how aggravating people can be at the worst times. When Eliza comes back with all of her overwhelmingly number of bags, a young man who was working on the film shoot that was going on in her street helps Eliza with the bags. There is very interesting interactions between the two. The boy talks to her about her writing and her life. He helps bring out that inner youth, joy, and independence in her just in the very brief moments that he is in the film. He stood out as one of the most powerful characters/actors in the film and he was only on screen for a matter of minutes. I really wish they would have done more with this as it could made up for that missing element that was just barely holding the film back. I suppose they didn’t do this to avoid any type of suspicions of an affair or simply awkward feelings because of the age difference. Still, I feel like having this extra angle to the film would have helped it a lot more than it would have hurt it.
I think for those who are mothers will probably be able to enjoy this movie more than those who aren’t, just for that relating quality, being able to compare it to moments in their own lives where things became this hectic. I found it amusing and I did feel for Eliza to an extent, wanting her to be a good mother as well as do something for herself. One of the biggest problems that Eliza’s big triumph seemed so miniscule. She was a published and respected author. Basically writing a journal about little parts of her day didn’t seem to be too rewarding. Starting to work on another book or covering something that really made an impact is the type of payoff that her character needed. By resorting so much lower than this made it seem like a weak conclusion. Personally, I didn’t feel like it gave Eliza a chance to grow.
This could work as film. Great cast and this is something Uma could do very well.
If this ever comes out, I will give it a shot.
Uma rules!!
Good review!!!