No. 41 (2022) MOTHERING SUNDAY May 26th.

 

Film No. 41 (2022)  May  26th.  6.30 PM   Cinema 1.  LUNA  Windsor,  Nedlands.

 

"Jane, you have no family. That is a gift. You have nothing to lose. And you must learn to use it". (A grieving mother, Clarrie, imparts her ill conceived view upon her servant, Jane Fairchild).

The real grief of war, told through the eyes of a servant in the 1920's is a cinematic tale told previously (TESTEMENT OF YOUTH) to better effect. MOTHERING SUNDAY is mesmerising, and a worthy contributor to the genre, but doesn't quite achieve the brilliance it had the potential to fulfil. But make no mistake, add Odessa Young to the growing list of Australian actors on the rise, is bound for bigger things.

Jane (Young) is a servant. Coming from the underclasses, she aspires to write, meanwhile she serves the privileged echelons of society. It is her stepping stone to a more fulfilling life. We meet her working as a maid for the Nivens. Godfrey (Colin Firth) and Clarrie (Olivia Colman) who are grief stricken. Their only children, two boys, were killed in The Great War. Jane is locked in a steamy affair with Paul (Josh O'Connor) who is to marry Emma Hobday (Emma D'Arcy); it's a given, part of the class arrangement. Jane knows her place, so her relationship with Paul is wholesome and fulfilling from a sexual POV.

MOTHERING SUNDAY is a novel adapted by Alice Birch from Booker Prize winner Graham Swift's (LAST ORDERS) prose. Those who loved the novel may have a more grounded opinion of the film. I say this because so many themes in the film are left flapping in the wind. Themes including, class, grief, loss, suicide (maybe) and a life lived are all explored in the tale, but for me, I was never fulfilled. I'll read the novella. 

MOTHERING SUNDAY is a good film. It's a handsome costume drama, a genre at which the Brits excel. This Sunday, which begins for Jane with a rare day off, a day to herself, becomes a pivotal moment in her short life but one that, via the imagination of Swift, will be lasting. Glenda Jackson's (first in 31 years) appearance is clumsy but sums up all that has gone before. 9GUMS.