Film Notes

Four Mothers: comic spark shines through the farce in this pertly scripted crowd-pleaser

Director Darren Thornton’s charming Irish remake of Italian comedy Mid-August Lunch (2008) follows the misadventures of Edward, a people-pleasing debut novelist who is left to entertain his friends’ elderly mothers while they jet off to Maspalomas Pride.

Edward (James McArdle), a gay Irish novelist, has a hit on his hands – or he might, if he can f ind snappier words to sell it. His YA debut sounds like a winning romance between two boys, but in Zoom promos and radio spots he keeps emphasising “social structures” and post-colonial malaise. Agents and interviewers cringe, as does Edward, aware of jeopardising success just before it blooms.

If Edward had been better trained at PR and was pitching this very movie, he might call Four Mothers a “sweetly poignant comedy about the humour and sorrow of elder care”. Book promotion is further strained by Edward’s feeding, dressing, and constant oversight of his mother Alma (Fionnula Flanagan) in the small house they share. Speech-impacted by a recent stroke, Alma gets her peppery points across with or without the iPad that gives them sternly robotic expression.

The pressures compound when Billy (Gordon Hickey) and Colm (Gearoid Farrelly), Edward’s fellow travellers in gay singledom, filial duty and early middle age, heed the call of a days-long Pride party in the Canaries. Without notice, they drop their own mums in Edward and Alma’s living room. Dermot (Rory O’Neill), Edward’s newly uncloseted therapist, takes perverse inspiration from it, and soon his mother is also at Edward’s doorstep.

Director Darren Thornton, who co-wrote Four Mothers with his brother Colin, handles these farcical elements beautifully. Early scenes tilt broad, but comic spark abounds. That’s even truer once the mothers of the title converge, in a crisply edited ballet of domestic chaos. So many versions of Four Mothers would treat these women as laughing stocks or obstacles. Thornton’s aims could not be further away, and his actresses – the resourceful and hypnotic Flanagan, sharp-edged Dearbhla Molloy, doe-like Stella McCusker and freewheeling Paddy Glynn – are in on the hearty, observant jokes without being the jokes. McArdle, tasked to make a loose, vivid lead from an anxious, indecisive introvert, is every bit the gorgeously shaded, quietly wounded centre this script needs.

Edward might protest that Four Mothers isn’t ‘just’ a humane comedy or warm ensemble portrait. Thornton is wise about cross-generational varieties of emotional self-sabotage – and about stalemated blame games between parents and adult children, even those who love each other. Edward’s agent insists that pop audiences balk at subtext, but this pertly scripted, well-styled crowd-pleaser is rich with it.

Nick Davis, Sight & Sound, 3 April 2025

‘Four Mothers’: London Review

Warm-hearted Irish mother-son drama plays in London Competition

YA novelist Edward (James McArdle) is a full-time carer for his mutely-defiant mother Alma (Fionnula Flanagan), who bosses him around from an iPad. Chronically unassertive, he’s become such a pushover that his three friends can’t resist the temptation to ditch their own needy mothers with Edward in order to attend a Pride weekend in Spain. Darren Thornton – together with his writing partner and brother Colin – makes a warm return to the big screen after 2016’s A Date For Mad Mary with Four Mothers, a clearly personal tribute to middle-aged Irish gay men, their working-class matriarchs and what it means to – finally – grow up. 

A loose remake of the small Italian film Mid-August Lunch (2008), the film showcases once again the genial, salty-sweet disposition of the Thornton brothers alongside their ability to draw empathetic performances from their leads — in this case, veteran Irish actress Flanagan and Glasgow’s McArdle, playing a perfect Irishman in his first outright film lead.

Well-known and -respected in theatre, like Andrew Scott and Jack Lowden before him McArdle’s transition to film has similarly been a slower process. You could compare Four Mothers to Scott’s work with John Butler on, say, Handsome Devil, but there is a maturity here that is born from experience. There are laughs to be had, but this story of ageing and assertiveness, transitions and limitations, has a trace-line of authenticity and sadness too. Four Mothers is the kind of film that people find over time, and respond to strongly according to their personal experience: expect a slow burn after its LFF premiere and eventual Irish release.

The writing in Four Mothers is key to its modest successes: it follows a nicely-paced dramatic trajectory, but the dialogue and performances are key. Edward’s debut YA novel – about a young gay couple in Ireland – is suddenly finding a Tik-Tok-led success in America and his publisher wants him to go on a book tour there to capitalise on it. Lacking any kind of self-confidence, Edward struggles with phone-in radio promotional interviews at the same time as he avoids telling Alma that he needs to go away for two weeks, which will involve her moving to a home for respite care.

Eighty-one year-old Alma, mute and wheelchair-bound after a stroke, communicates via an imperiously-rung bell or her robotically-voiced iPad. James finds some sort of companionship with his two gay friends, who also struggle with the care of their mothers, and his psychotherapist who has recently come out at the age of 53. But even they see him as a soft touch, dumping Jean (Dearbhla Molloy), Rosie (Paddy Glynn) and Maud (Stella McCusker) in Edward’s modest bungalow while they run off to Maspalomas Winter Pride for the weekend. Now Edward has three demanding elderly women to take care of as his publisher becomes ever-more insistent and the object of his lust, physical therapist Raf (Gaetan Garcia), prepares to move overseas.

Clearly, Edward is going to have to grow up or grow a pair over the course of the 89-minute film, and it’s testament to McArdle’s sensitive understanding of his character that he keeps the viewer’s sympathy even as patsy Edward agrees to ever-more outrageous demands. The Thornton brothers have given all four women distinct personalities and problems, which adds to the enjoyment of their slow-forming sorority, and the addition of a mini-bus and a road trip to Galway to visit a medium played hilariously by Niamh Cusack keeps the laughs coming. Flanagan is striking in a mute role, conveying the panic, love and selfishness of a wholly- and perhaps happily-dependant woman.

The real achievement of Four Mothers, though, is to take this high, arch concept and turn it into something more subtly loving. How do we best care for ourselves and each other as we get older? It’s not a popular subject in cinema, but this gently-exaggerated scenario has truth at its core and is at least part-based on the Thorntons’ own mother, as well as the Italian source material. Broad though his film might be, Darren Thornton makes it a closely-shot affair across well-rendered interiors, the better to capture the intimacy of the subject matter. Music underscores the humanity at the film’s core. Of course there are laughs here but, like life – and even at Maspalomas Winter Pride – there’s so much more to take into consideration.

Fionnuala Halligan, Screen Daily, 13 October 2024

What you thought about Four Mothers

Film Responses

Collated Response Comments

130 members, guests and two pigeons attended this screening and the AGM which preceded it. We received 66 Responses giving a Film Score of 4.06 and a response rate of 51%.  All of your comments are gathered below.

It has been a great season and we have all enjoyed the eclectic mix of films that were screened. Enjoy your summer and we look forward to welcoming you all back in September.

“Is this the most warmly, subtly humane film of the season (rhetorical question - yes, it is)? Both script and direction point to broad comedy but manage to slip in much thoughtful comment and query on what it is to be an ageing woman in a society that no longer has a place for you, how to define yourself once the core duties of your life are done and how to reckon honestly with the past . The carefully delineated roles of the women are rather at odds with the pencil sketch clichés of the three gay men scampering off to Gay pride and the fact they all have elderly mothers to offload seems unlikely at best. Perhaps a forgivable plot stretch to allow us to arrive at the central dilemma. McArdle manages a fine balancing act of a performance which could easily have toppled into farce, which is also true of the film as a whole, but the star is Fionnula Flanagan (and her iPad) who is extraordinary. The film neatly sidesteps the risk of maudlin sentiment and over simplification. A nice, gently upbeat finish to the season”.

“A perfect film to end what has been a great season of films. Thanks to all of the committee for the hard work you put in so that we can all enjoy our fortnightly fix of memorable films. Looking forward to next season”.

“A warm way to end the season. Thought this quite gentle comedy was graceful often, yet interspersed with brightly observed phases that meant it isn't sentimental or silly. Seemed very personal and almost heartfelt. It's firm realism is underpinned by well defined characters. Liked the cast that give well performances, in particular that of McArdle who is convincing in showing the problems of not being good at public speaking and not able to deal with it. Seemed bitter about his mother yet can't articulate that. Flanagan's almost silent performance reflects McArdle's usually from deadpan faces. Equally the portrayal at of traditional generational attitudes held my interest. Very much enjoyed the mothers' visit to a medium – what a portrayal by Niamh Cusack. The careful inclusion of LGBTQ+ themes explains much of the four mothers' attitudes. All round a delight with a telling edge; thanks for an eclectic and enthralling season”.

“Thought this film was a delight and very funny. Not sure those around me found it so amusing though!”

“A great end to another highly enjoyable season. Thanks very much to all involved and look forward to seeing you in September”.

“An engaging movie centred on a gay man and his insecurities caring for his domineering mother. A few flashes of humour but achingly frustrating to watch, wondering if he will ever prioritise his own needs over those of his friends and mother. A poignant reminder that life can still be hard for someone who doesn't fit in easily to a traditional and deeply religious society”.

“Interesting aspect of the challenges of family Carers of their parents. At least when you get old you don't lose your sense of humour!”

“A very well-balanced production. Worthy winner. Great acting – women and men”.

“Heart lifting”.

“A beautiful film – such insight into the frailty yet resilience of the older characters and the devotion of the son (who btw despite being Scottish – was a very convincing Irishman. I am Scottish too and I am not sure what you were conveying in your remarks)”.

“What a wonderful, sensitive, heartwarming, heartbreaking script. Great performances from ‘Edward’ and all ‘Four mothers’. A great end to the season.

“Great soundtrack”.

“Enjoyable film with a good Irish sense of humour! Passivity of main character was a bit annoying at times”.

“True to life, amusing”.

“Very humorous – the four women were great characters”.

“Very sensitively made film which tapped into family history, sexism, anti-gay and friendship in old age”.

“Brilliant characters. Could have done with subtitles”.

“Loved the pigeons in the film and room. Great characterisation. Thought his mom was hilarious!! Subtitles would be appreciated as they spoke fast and some accents were stronger than others”.

“Well paced gentle comedy”.      “Gentle”.

“Heartwarming and well acted”.      “Bitter sweet”.

“A sensitive and thought provoking film but a bit slow. The humour with the ladies was great but the story was a bit frustrating. I would have liked subtitles. The sound was ….. and the accents difficult”.

“Great actors and actresses!!! Interesting – complex – story!!!”

“Charming but sound was a rather tinny therefore missed many of th gems. Thank you”.

“Subtitles would have been good”.

“Sad but funny. Gentle film”.

“I tried not to identify with any of the ‘mothers’ characteristics’”.

“Different and interesting”.   “Very sad but heartwarming”.

“Missed much with no subtitles. Irish accents too broad”.

“Nice one to finish with”.

“A frustrating lead character. The accents/acoustics were difficult. It would have been better with subtitles. The ladies were great”.

“Sad, funny, great film”.

“Great story. Sound track awful”.

“I found the sound difficult to understand – I need to see it again to catch all the dialogue. Nicley filmed – how the mothers thawed out”.

“Some moments of humour but the mix of decision making and the boring life of old peoples care”

“Not sure t was a comedy – but some very funny moments”.

“Couldn’t hear or understand most of the dialogue. Overy negative portrayal of old age”.

“Glacial”.

“Couldn’t hear any words. No idea what really went on”.

“Very good. Needed subtitles though!”

“I rated this very poor because I couldn’t understand it…..dilogue. Ladies well acted. More tragedy than comedy”.