Four Mothers ****

Starring: James McArdle, Fionnula Flanagan, Dearbhla Malloy, Stella McCusker, Paddy Glynn, Gaetan Garcia  

Director: Darren Thornton

Country: Ireland

UK Release: BFI Distribution

Irish director Darren Thornton has already made an exceptional LGBT+ movie in the shape of A Date For Mad Mary. But now, with the help of a script co-written by his brother (who is gay), Thorntion has made another strong Queer film, giving insight into the trials of life as a gay man in 21st century Ireland.

Edward (McArdle – Love & Marriage) is a middle-aged YA author who has become a live-in carer for his mother, Alma (Flanagan – The Others, Some Mother’s Son) following a recent stroke that has left her unable to speak. Several of his friends (including Rory O'Neill, better known as drag queen Panti Bliss) are in a similar situation, but when they decide to spontaneously go to Maspalomas Pride without him, their mothers are left with Edward before he is able to refuse. Struggling to juggle the needs of all four mothers and the demands of his budding career, he’s left sleeping in his car and bowing to the whims of everyone around him.

A re-working of Gianni Di Gregorio’s Mid-August Lunch, this charming comedy explores the reality of being gay men in a rural community, who are often left to look after ailing sick relatives because they have no other family commitments. Edward can’t say no to his mother – nor to anyone else for that matter – but as he begins to bow beneath the pressures of caring for four elderly women, this becomes an empowering film about a man finding his voice. As he says in a late scene, “Just because I have no children, that doesn’t mean my life doesn’t have value!”, which is a message that many families need to hear.

The comedy comes in the form of the mothers, who are a disparate group of contrasting women, whose initial distaste for each other develops into a sisterhood. Flanagan is the absolute stand-out, communicating only via a digitised voice on her iPad and a lot of sassy eye-rolling, but the full ensemble make for vastly entertaining viewing opposite McArdle’s deeply sympathetic turn as the world-weary but tentatively hopeful everyman.

It might not be remarkable in terms of its storytelling, but this gentle and tender comedy is about the importance of human connection at all stages through life. With compelling performances and a tone that’s pitched just right, this is a warm hug of a film that will warm even the coldest of cockles.

UK Release: 4th April 2025 in cinemas, released by BFI Distribution

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