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On one Sunday each May, we celebrate motherhood with cards and flowers and brunches. But, for many people—mothers who are missing children, children missing their mothers—it can be a painful day. And Mothering Sunday explores that grief and loss through the eyes of a young maid and the privileged people around her.
Mothering Sunday takes place primarily on Mother’s Day of 1924, as many families are still mourning the loss of so many of their sons to the First World War. As her now-childless employers leave for a picnic with their friends, maid Jane (Odessa Young) races to meet with the man she loves: Paul Sheringham (Josh O’Connor), the only surviving son of a nearby family. The two pass the time alone in Paul’s room as he delays his own departure for the picnic, where he’ll have to celebrate his upcoming wedding to Emma (Emma D’Arcy), who once planned to marry one of the other young men who were lost.
Based on the novel by Graham Swift, this time-jumping period drama also follows Jane into her future—both in a later relationship and as a celebrated author. The focus, however, remains on that one pivotal Sunday—when Jane was confronted by the realities of grief and loss, of obligation and opportunity—and how the events of the day caused her to explore a different path for her life.
Despite being set on a beautiful spring day in the lush countryside, the characters’ shared pain gives the film a melancholy tone. The families get together to celebrate an upcoming wedding, though they can’t ignore the loss of those who are no longer with them. Jane and Paul may be passionately in love, but they know that this forbidden relationship has no future. It’s a story heavy with grief, and that often makes it feel too sluggish.
At the same time, the balance here seems to be off. While this one focal day was a critical one in Jane’s story, so much seems to be missing, too. As the story skips through time without warning, it also seems to skip over important details. Instead of following a naked Jane as she wanders alone through the Sheringham estate, more time could have been spent on different aspects of her story and her relationships. And those gaps take away from the drama and emotion.
With its talented cast and its insights into the monumental tragedies of war and the loss of love, Mothering Sunday boasts plenty of poignant possibilities. But too much of its dramatic potential gets lost in its problematic storytelling.
Mothering Sunday is available in select theaters starting on April 8, 2022.
Listen to the review on Reel Discovery:
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