Director: Niki Caro
Genre: Action/
Thriller
Runtime: 115
minutes
Year:
2023
Starring: Jennifer Lopez, Joseph Fiennes, Gael Garcia Bernal,
Lucy Paez, Omari Hardwick
Description: While fleeing
from dangerous assailants, an assassin (Jennifer Lopez) comes out of hiding to
protect her daughter she left earlier in life.
Review: The murderess at the center of “The Mother” is never given a name,
simple the mother. And indeed motherhood is the only thing that drives her. The
viewers get to know her when she is pregnant and interrogated by the police
after her deal with shady individuals Adrian and Hector goes awry. They want
revenge after she betrays them, and what better revenge than getting back at
the mother through her child?
Jennifer Lopez succeeds well
in portraying the mother as a nuanced character. In this dark thriller,
everything is heavy and negative, but thankfully Lopez does not adapt her
performance to a cliché story. Although she is though in her actions, there is
also a warmth in the way she protects her daughter and talks to an old friend. Too
bad, then, that the script doesn’t give her much to work with.
“The Mother” neatly takes
the expected steps with just enough focus so that it doesn’t become a really
bad movie. The action scenes are entertaining enough, although the editing
could be a little better at times.
This thriller does not constantly
keep you on the edge of your seat, but the pace is fairly even. It is only when
the mother teaches her daughter to protect herself that the narrative settles
down and thus allows room for the daughter’s development. Just unfortunate that
she eventually doesn’t use much of what she has learned.
Lopez already doesn’t have
much to work with, but the villains are even more sparsly fleshed out. In his
very limited screentime, Gael Garcia Bernal still puts a certain flair and
terrifying charisma into his character. Next to him, Joseph Fiennes really
falls flat, unfortunate he has the larger role of the two. Bernal is a way
better actor.
“The Mother” is a popcorn
film that will be forgotten in no time, but it’s by no means a bad movie.
Rating: 3/ 5
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