My wife and I enjoyed this stark picture of one mother's struggles to be the "contemporary" mom. Many will/do not like this movie, maybe because it hurts to admit that the lead couple in fact mirrors (in a Picasso-ish way) a lot of us parents these days. Despite the title, Motherhood is not trying to be a "universal portrait," but rather a particularized snapshot that might show broad themes. The characters are essentially caring, "liberal," broad-minded people trying to squeeze all of their ideals into what is necessarily an extremely limiting and oftentimes frustrating enterprise for most human beings -- parenthood. If you live in a big, popular, cosmopolitan city -- for the sake of the culture, diversity and tight-knit neighborliness -- then parking will be a problem. If you submit to your child's wish to have a "theme" birthday -- then you might be harried with providing that, in said city, particularly if you have sneaking suspicion that it's overkill anyway . If you want to be writers, pursuing a life of the mind -- well, that may not neatly coincide with making the kids' breakfast every morning and consistently attending their school functions. The movie simply presents this conundrum -- a picture of the humanity-loving folks among us who turn out to act quite frazzled and nasty when mugged by Reality -- all without judging. Yes, the characters have "bitten off more than they can chew," but haven't so many of us done the same, at least sometimes in some areas of life? It may be dispiriting to watch, but it's real.
The message of the movie seems to be that parenthood (particular motherhood) demands sacrifices that some of us make less easily than others -- but that everyone is indeed trying their best. I found Anthony Edwards' husband character quite relatable -- a wee bit unaware, but absolutely loving and supportive in the ways he does understand. This couple (again, like many others) seem almost too similar to one another, thus lacking the balance necessary to make those "ideal" families flow so swimmingly. The living room dance-scene with the stranger almost broke my heart. How many parents have pined over the loss of what they thought was their individuality -- but then also felt guilty and selfish for even thinking that? I could go on...
Suffice it to say that Motherhood's rambling unrealism (a kind of Impressionism) calls up some uncomfortable realities of our post-feminist life; it gets under the skin, and cuts a bit close to the bone -- apparently too close for some folks' comfort.
The message of the movie seems to be that parenthood (particular motherhood) demands sacrifices that some of us make less easily than others -- but that everyone is indeed trying their best. I found Anthony Edwards' husband character quite relatable -- a wee bit unaware, but absolutely loving and supportive in the ways he does understand. This couple (again, like many others) seem almost too similar to one another, thus lacking the balance necessary to make those "ideal" families flow so swimmingly. The living room dance-scene with the stranger almost broke my heart. How many parents have pined over the loss of what they thought was their individuality -- but then also felt guilty and selfish for even thinking that? I could go on...
Suffice it to say that Motherhood's rambling unrealism (a kind of Impressionism) calls up some uncomfortable realities of our post-feminist life; it gets under the skin, and cuts a bit close to the bone -- apparently too close for some folks' comfort.