'night, Mother (film)

For the stage play on which the film is based, see 'night, Mother.

'night, Mother
Film poster
Directed by	Tom Moore
Screenplay by	Marsha Norman
Based on	'night, Mother by Marsha Norman
Produced by	Aaron Spelling Alan Greisman
Starring	Sissy Spacek Anne Bancroft
Cinematography	Stephen M. Katz
Edited by	Suzanne Pettit
Music by	David Shire
Production company	Aaron Spelling Productions
Distributed by	Universal Pictures
Release date	September 12, 1986 (1986-09-12)
Running time	96 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$3 million [1]
Box office	$441,863

'night, Mother is a 1986 American drama film starring Sissy Spacek and Anne Bancroft. It was directed by Tom Moore and written by Marsha Norman, based on Norman's Pulitzer Prize-winning play of the same name. The film was entered into the 37th Berlin International Film Festival. Tom Moore had also directed the play on Broadway. ^{[2] [3]}

Plot

Jessie is a middle-aged woman living with her widowed mother, Thelma. One night, Jessie calmly tells her mother that she plans to commit suicide that very evening. Jessie makes this revelation all while nonchalantly organizing household items and preparing to do her mother's nails.

The resulting intense conversation between Jessie and Thelma reveals Jessie's reasons for her decision and how thoroughly she has planned her own death, culminating in a disturbing yet unavoidable climax.

Cast

• Sissy Spacek as Jessie Cates
• Anne Bancroft as Thelma Cates
• Ed Berke as Dawson Cates
• Carol Robbins as Loretta Cates
• Jennifer Roosendahl as Melodie Cates
• Michael Kenworthy as Kenny Cates
• Sari Walker as Agnes Fletcher
• Claire Malis as Operator (voice)

Release

'night, Mother was released theatrically on September 12, 1986.

The film received mixed reviews, and Bancroft was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama. Spacek was nominated for the Academy Award that year for Crimes of the Heart , another film adaptation of a play, released the same year. ^[4]

The film was given its first-ever U.S. DVD release, by Universal Studios on August 3, 2010.

References

1. "AFI|Catalog".
2. "'night, Mother". Archived from the original on 2019-07-24. Retrieved 2019-01-14.
3. "Berlinale: 1987 Programme". berlinale.de. Archived from the original on 28 December 2010. Retrieved 2011-02-27.
4. Maslin, Janet (September 12, 1986). "FILM: SISSY SPACEK IN NIGHT, MOTHER". The New York Times . Retrieved November 23, 2016.

External links

• 'night, Mother at IMDb
• 'night, Mother at Rotten Tomatoes
• 'night, Mother at Box Office Mojo