15 outstanding films about moms

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

These pictures reveal motherhood from an unexpected angle.

1. Anywhere but here

• USA, 1999.
• Comedy drama.
• Duration: 114 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 2.

A spectacular woman, Adele, takes her daughter Anne from the provinces to a big city, so that she would make her mother's dream come true and become an actress. But the girl most of all dreams of studying at the university and living a quiet life.

The film will surely be close to everyone who knows firsthand how difficult it is to find a common language with family members. The story of the difficult relationship between mother and daughter was brilliantly embodied by young Natalie Portman and luxurious Susan Sarandon.

2. Erin Brockovich

• USA, 2000.
• Biographical drama.
• Duration: 130 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 3.

A single mother is about to arrange a lawsuit with PG&E, a waste groundwater poisoning company. Although the heroine did not graduate from university, nature has endowed her with a sharp mind and determination.

Almost the entire film is based on the acting skills of Julia Roberts, for whom this role became an Oscar winner. The film was directed by the talented Steven Soderbergh (Sex, Lies and Video, Ocean's Eleven), and the script was written by Suzanne Grant. She took as a basis the real story of human rights activist Erin Brockovich.

3. White Oleander

• USA, 2002.
• Family drama.
• Duration: 109 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 1.

Ingrid decides to kill the man who cheated on her, without even thinking about the consequences of this. And her passionate and stubborn daughter Astrid cannot forgive her mother for this act.

The film was directed by the English director Peter Kosminsky based on the novel of the same name by Janet Fitch, one of the best examples of modern women's literature, and the main characters were played by Alison Lohman and Michelle Pfeiffer.

4. Freaky Friday

• USA, 2003.
• Teenage comedy.
• Duration: 97 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 1.

Psychotherapist Tess Coleman and her young daughter Anna cannot find a common language in any way and constantly argue with each other. One morning they find that they have swapped bodies.

The comedy directed by Mark Waters, starring Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan, is not as simple as it might seem. While mother and daughter are in someone else's body, they not only learn to understand, but also adopt the positive traits of each other in order to eventually cope with the problems that threaten to destroy their family.

5. The invisible side

• USA, 2009.
• Sports drama.
• Duration: 129 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 7.

A poor African American boy meets a woman from a wealthy area and becomes part of her exemplary family. With her maternal love, the heroine manages to change the life of her adopted son for the better.

The film is based on the true story of professional American football player Michael Oher. Critics highly appreciated the performance of Sandra Bullock - for this role the actress even received an Oscar.

6. Mother and child

• USA, Spain, 2009.
• Family melodrama.
• Duration: 126 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 2.

The storylines are unobtrusively intertwined and tell the story of the lives of three different women. The first gave her child after his birth, the second, on the contrary, was adopted at an early age, and the third dreams of becoming a mother, but is not able to give birth.

The low-budget drama of Colombian director Rodrigo Garcia is not without its drawbacks: the director went too far with drama. But at the same time, the fractured female destinies performed by Annette Bening (American Beauty) and Naomi Watts are transferred to the screen with horrifying accuracy.

7. I killed my mom

• Canada, 2009.
• Family drama.
• Duration: 96 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 5.

Teenager Uber Minel lives with his mother in the suburbs of Montreal. Previously, they had a great relationship, but since the son entered the period of adolescence, close relatives have become more and more distant from each other.

The debut work of the young director Xavier Dolan, in which the director himself played the main role together with Canadian actress Anne Dorval, shocked the Cannes Film Festival. Moreover, Dolan himself partially financed the picture. Subsequently, the autobiographical theme of the relationship with his mother was reflected more than once in the work of Xavier - for example, in the even more mature and verified from the point of view of the 2014 production of “Mommy”.

8. Something is wrong with Kevin

• UK, USA, 2011.
• Psychological drama.
• Duration: 112 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 5.

Eva Khachaduryan is trying to improve her life after the terrible act committed by her fifteen-year-old son Kevin, and at the same time to understand what exactly led her family to the tragedy. The fact is that something was wrong with the boy from the very beginning.

Lynn Ramsey's film explores the dark side of motherhood and tries to figure out how to live with guilt after your child has committed the worst crime ever. It is worth seeing the film immediately not only because of the talented direction, but also because of the acting of the unearthly Tilda Swinton and in no way inferior to her Ezra Miller.

9. My little princess

• France, 2011.
• Family drama.
• Duration: 105 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 4.

An exalted and irresponsible artist, Hannah rarely takes an interest in the life of her ten-year-old daughter Violetta. Everything changes when, after trying to shoot a child in the image of Marlene Dietrich, the woman decides that she has attacked a gold mine. Gradually, Hannah's fantasy goes further, and the relatively innocent photographs become more and more vicious.

The biopic directed by Eva Ionesco, who became the youngest nude model ever to appear in Playboy, is based on real events from her childhood, which was by no means joyful. As an adult, Eve even sued her mother several times because of the moral harm inflicted.

10. Mom

• Spain, Canada, 2013.
• Mystical thriller.
• Duration: 100 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 2.

In an abandoned forest hut, two girls are found who, after several years of isolation, have lost most of their social skills. The young couple takes the children into their home, unaware that they are already being cared for by an unfriendly supernatural spirit.

The film directed by Andres Muschetti is based on the performance of Jessica Chastain, who changes dramatically in an hour and a half of screen time. The actress showed the development of the character from a self-centered girl to a loving mother who is ready to protect children at the cost of her life.

11. Adolescence

• USA, 2014.
• Drama, parable.
• Duration: 166 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 9.

In the center of the story is the process of growing up a child from an ordinary American family. Mason boy is going through a divorce of his parents, is fond of music and teenage films. But then he has more adult interests.

Richard Linklater's Long-Term Construction focuses on the mother figure played by Patricia Arquette. The actress embodied the collective image of a woman who can give children a sense of security and care.

12. Room

• Canada, USA, UK, Ireland, 2015.
• Drama.
• Duration: 118 minutes.
• IMDb: 8, 1.

The young girl is kidnapped by a man whom she calls Old Nick and locked up in a barn. After two years of imprisonment, she gives birth to a son from her rapist, who never left the room and saw the rest of the world only on TV.

The script for the film was written by Emma Donoghue (she is also the author of the novel of the same name), inspired by the scandalous case of the Austrian kidnapper of his own daughter Josef Fritzl. The picture was directed by Irish director Lenny Abrahamson ("Adam and Paul", "Frank"). Admiration deserves not only the play of Brie Larson, who received an absolutely deserved "Oscar", but also the young Jacob Tremblay, who played the role of her son.

13. Very bad moms

• USA, 2016.
• Comedy.
• Duration: 100 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 2.

Amy Mitchell is trying to combine the career and responsibilities of a mother with many children. But at some point, the woman realizes that she has taken on an overwhelming responsibility and decides to take a time out.

The second directorial work of the tandem of screenwriters John Lucas and Scott Moore, known for the sensational at the time "The Hangover in Vegas", is perfect as a pleasant comedy for the evening. At the same time, the film, albeit in a humorous form, raises many serious topics.

14. Tully

• USA, 2017.
• Comedy drama.
• Duration: 94 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 0.

40-year-old mother of many children, Marlo, exhausted by the birth of her third child, after much doubts still hires an assistant. The nanny turns out to be an attractive and carefree 26-year-old named Tully.

The third collaboration between director Jason Reitman and screenwriter Diablo Cody, after Juno and Poor Rich Girl, brings a life of motherhood to life, and also raises the important theme of female self-realization.

15. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

• USA, UK, 2017.
• Crime drama.
• Duration: 115 minutes.
• IMDb: 8, 2.

Mildred Hayes is tired of waiting for the results of the investigation of her daughter's murder from the police, so she pays the rent for three billboards and places eye-catching accusations against the local sheriff on them. The war between a lonely woman and an entire city eventually leads all participants in the events to an unpredictable and dramatic outcome.

The outstanding work of director Martin McDonagh is worthy of everyone's attention, primarily because of the incredible acting of Frances McDormand. The latter creates the image of a persistent and vindictive mother, ready to do anything for the sake of justice.