Review: Netflix’s MOTHER
No, this isn’t a review on director Bong Joon-ho’s 2009 film or Darren Aronofsky’s 2017 psychological thriller. I bring to your attention Tatsushi Omori’s tragic drama MOTHER (2020). Even though it bears the same name as other films, its story is one no one’s ever seen before. The film had an original Japanese release back in July of this year, but it’s now made its way to the U.S. Unfortunately, the film hasn’t been advertised that much since its release on November 3. Hopefully that doesn’t steer audiences, because the film is a hidden gem.
There are various characteristics we use to describe mothers and/or motherhood. Some that come to the top of most of our heads might be: caring, nurturing, respectful. Even though those are expectations, that’s not a reality for a lot of people. Based on a true incident, MOTHER (2020) takes a look at the harsh life of young boy Shuhei and the conflicts he develops from his mother Akiko.
From the very beginning, we see Akiko asking her family for money, throwing a tantrum when they refuse. Her family says this is a pattern with her. She’s always asking for money, just throwing it away when she gets it. On top of that, junk covers almost every square inch of her apartment. There’s no room for Shuhei to play like the child he is, only a spot parked in front of the television. At an arcade later that night, Akiko meets a man named Ryo. After just one night of knowing each other, Akiko follows Ryo to Nagoya, leaving Shuhei alone with no food, no electricity, and no supervision for a week. In just the first fifteen minutes of the film, this is just a glimpse of her horrible parenting skills. Audiences come to realize that this behavior isn’t because of one rough day or an underlying problem. This behavior is who she is. There’s no excuses. It’s the beginning of the end.
The film then jumps to years later with Shuhei as a teenager. Instead of things getting better, they somehow manage to get worse. Audiences see Shuhei fall deeper and deeper into his mother’s trap, past the point of no return.
Masami Nagasawa gives an outstanding performance as Akiko. She really brings out the monster-like qualities of this mother, not allowing audiences to feel sorry for her. Instead of playing the role in an outrightly cruel attitude, Nagasawa portrays Akiko as subtly vicious in her tone. Therefore, it makes sense when audiences easily follow her orders. Nagasawa has won the Japanese Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her work in Crying Out Love in the Center of the World (2004) and Kingdom (2019).
The script writes Shuhei as a very quiet character, but the actors that play him still bring him to life with the little words he has. In the first part of the film, young Shuhei is played by Sho Gunji. At this stage, Shuhei only speaks when spoken to. That difference is apparent when the film shifts to teenage Shuhei, played by Daiken Okudaira. When it comes to his sister, Shuhei knows how to take control of situations and act like a big brother. However, when it comes to his mother, he still has the same hesitation he expressed as a child. It’s interesting to watch those two sides of him conflict as audiences wonder which will win at the end of the day.
While we’re also talking about the actors, one has to give credit to director Tatsushi Omori. He also co-wrote the screenplay with Takehiko Minato. Based on his past work, Omori depicts similar themes and situations. His directorial debut, Whispering of the Gods (2005), looked at sexual abuse from priests, while The Ravine of Goodbye (2013) follows a sexual assault victim living with her perpetrator. It’s clear that Omori isn’t afraid to tackle heavy subjects. Nonetheless, these themes are also enlightening as their transgression of boundaries and expectations allow audiences to take a different look at the world. MOTHER (2020). transgresses society’s ideas of motherhood, making one question – what makes a mother?
In an interview with Asian Movie Pulse, Omori was asked about his opinion about the good and evil qualities of humanity. Omori stated how he captures those two forces in his films specifically, stating, “Many people from Europe actually interpret my movies as a battle between good and evil; however, my view on religion is not monotheistic, neither manichaeistic. Christianity, for example, draws a fine line between good and evil, but as for me I would rather ask what brings us happiness, what brings us despair, what is of greater or lower importance in our lives.”
Omori brings up an interesting viewpoint. That’s the kind of idea one can expect from MOTHER (2020). as well. Although it may seem obvious to audiences that the film looks at an abusive relationship, the film’s characters have normalized this behavior in their own minds. It’s hard to understand why Akiko would not try to make a better life for her son. She believes that simply because she gave birth, that gives her the right to do whatever she wants with her kids. it’s hard to understand why Shuhei still stays by his mother’s side even though he knows she’s not right.
There are moments when this film feels like a horror movie with its realism making it all the more frightening. As stated previously, Akiko manipulates her son with subdued viciousness. All her criticisms and insults are said in a calm, unwavering tone. In it, she practically tells her son that he cannot accomplish anything on his own – his only friend and his only hope is his mother. For a two-hour film, the story takes different twists and turns. It has moments of high energy combined with scenes of long, unsettling silence. There’s a lot of different conflicts in the film, but that never muddles the story or takes away from its greatness. If anything, it keeps audiences on their toes, wondering what could possibly happen next.
To really emphasize the bleakness of Shuhei’s situation, the whole film has a dull look to it, meaning it maintains a palette of muggy grays or sickly yellows and greens. As for the film score, there is just a recurrent theme of horns that plays throughout the film. Blaring, it makes the tone just as unsettling as when there’s long periods of silence. MOTHER (2020) is a film that doesn’t follow traditional storylines, that will keep viewers pondering long after the film’s conclusion.
