Motherhood (2009 film)

Last updated
Motherhood
Motherhoodposter09.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Katherine Dieckmann
Written byKatherine Dieckmann
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyNancy Schreiber
Edited byMichael R. Miller
Music by Joe Henry
Production
companies
Distributed by Freestyle Releasing
Release dates
  • January 21, 2009 (2009-01-21)(Sundance)
  • October 23, 2009 (2009-10-23)(United States; limited)
Running time
90 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$10 million [1] [2]
Box office$726,354 [3]

Motherhood is a 2009 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Katherine Dieckmann and starring Uma Thurman.

Contents

Plot

Welcome to one day in the life of Eliza Welch (Uma Thurman), former fiction writer now wife, mother and blogger. A single day that just about pushes Eliza to her absolute tipping point.

After putting her deeper creative ambitions on hold to raise her two children, Eliza lives and works in a walk-up tenement in the middle of Greenwich Village. Her good-natured but absent-minded husband (Anthony Edwards) seems tuned out to his wife's conflicts, not to mention basic domestic reality, while her best friend Sheila (Minnie Driver) understands this - and Eliza - too well.

With her daunting to-do list kicking off at dawn, Eliza has to prepare for her daughters 6th birthday party, mind her toddler son, battle for parking space during an epic alternate side parking showdown, navigate playground politics with overbearing mums, and mend a rift after posting her best friends intimate confession on her blog. On top of it all, Eliza decides to enter a contest run by an upscale parenting magazine. All she has to do is write 500 words answering the deceptively simple question, "What Does Motherhood Mean to Me".

MOTHERHOOD is a bitter sweet comedy and the mother of all movies about parenting - a hymn to the joys and sorrows of raising children, and the necessity of losing yourself in the process.

Cast

Production

Motherhood and Arlen Faber (later renamed The Answer Man ) were a pair of films independently financed and produced by the New York City-based iDeal Partners Film Fund. [2]

The two films were part of a coordinated effort by iDeal Partners to reduce the risk in investing in film production during the late-2000s recession; they were pre-sold to foreign distributors, cast with "commercially-tested actors" and took advantage of U.S. state tax incentives that encouraged film production. [2] Both also premiered at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. [4] As of January 2009, Jana Edelbaum, co-founder of iDeal Partners, was predicting "at least a 15 percent return for her investors and if something big happens with Motherhood or Arlen Faber as much as 40 percent." [2]

Inspiration

Men can write great women's movies, but I don't think a man could write this movie. I don't think any man can understand what it's like to face the day to day the way a woman can, what it means for a woman to be compromised by domesticity.

Dieckmann, on her film Motherhood. [5]

The writer/director's "real life was the inspiration for the film"; [5] Dieckmann's home consists of two rent-stabilized apartments on the same floor of a West Village building, with one apartment for the bedrooms, and the other containing a kitchen, office and living room. In the film; Thurman's character "lives in [literally the] same building, in a bisected apartment." [5] Filming took place in New York City starting in May 2008 and lasting about 25 days. [1]

Release

Motherhood received a limited release in the United States on October 23, 2009, by Freestyle Releasing. [6]

In March 2010, the film's British premiere was confined to a single London cinema: the Apollo Piccadilly Circus. The box office gross was £9 on its opening night and £88 on its opening weekend; eleven viewers purchased a ticket, with only one person attending its first showing. [7] [8] Veteran film critic Barry Norman said, "It's a reasonable assumption that there was a marketing and advertising catastrophe, and people didn't know it was showing." [7]

Reception

The film received generally negative reviews. On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 20% based on 51 reviews, with an average rating of 3.88/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "Despite Uma Thurman's comic skills, Motherhood's contrived set-ups and clichéd jokes keep this comedy from delivering laughs – or insights into modern parenting." [9] In October 2009, Roger Ebert gave the film two stars out of four, saying the film is "billed as a comedy, but at no point will you require oxygen. There are some smiles and chuckles and a couple of actual laughs, but the overall effect is underwhelming"; Thurman is "doing her best with a role that may offer her less than any other in her career, even though she's constantly onscreen." [10] A. O. Scott said Thurman's character is "scattered, ambivalent, flaky and inconsistent all of which is fine, and energetically conveyed by Ms. Thurman. But what are tolerable quirks in a person can be deadly to a narrative, and Ms. Dieckmann, trying for observational nuance, descends into trivia and wishful thinking. ... The humor is soft, the dramas are small, and the movie stumbles from loose and scruffy naturalism to sitcom tidiness." [11]

The Times observed that while Motherhood was only the second-worst flop in British cinematic history, the film that beat it to that honor, 2007's My Nikifor , which "took £7 on its launch ... was a small independent effort rather than a £3m Hollywood production [like Motherhood]." [8]

Thurman won two awards at the Boston Film Festival, one for Best Actress for her work in Motherhood [12] [13] and an out-of-competition Film Excellence Award for her career accomplishments. [14]

Related Research Articles

<i>Dangerous Liaisons</i> 1988 film by Stephen Frears

Dangerous Liaisons is a 1988 American period romantic drama film directed by Stephen Frears from a screenplay by Christopher Hampton, based on his 1985 play Les Liaisons dangereuses, itself adapted from the 1782 French novel of the same name by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos. It stars Glenn Close, John Malkovich, Michelle Pfeiffer, Uma Thurman, Swoosie Kurtz, Mildred Natwick, Peter Capaldi and Keanu Reeves.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Uma Thurman</span> American actress (born 1970)

Uma Karuna Thurman is an American actress. She has performed in a variety of films, from romantic comedies and dramas to science fiction and action films. Following her appearances on the December 1985 and May 1986 covers of British Vogue, Thurman starred in Dangerous Liaisons (1988). She rose to international prominence with her performance as Mia Wallace in Quentin Tarantino's 1994 film Pulp Fiction, for which she was nominated for an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Supporting Actress. Often hailed as Tarantino's muse, she reunited with the director to play the main role in Kill Bill: Volume 1 and 2, which brought her a BAFTA Award nomination and two additional Golden Globe Award nominations.

<i>Hysterical Blindness</i> (film) 2002 American TV series or program

Hysterical Blindness is a 2002 American television drama film directed by Mira Nair and written by Laura Cahill, based on her stage play of the same name. It stars Gena Rowlands, Uma Thurman, Juliette Lewis, and Ben Gazzara. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 16, 2002, and aired on HBO on August 21, 2002. In 2003, Uma Thurman won a Golden Globe Award for her portrayal of Debby Miller. Ben Gazzara and Gena Rowlands also won Best Supporting Actor/Actress awards for their performances as Virginia Miller and Nick Piccolo at the 2003 Emmy Awards. The opening titles by Trollbäck + Company won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Main Title Design in 2003.

<i>The Avengers</i> (1998 film) 1998 film by Jeremiah S. Chechik

The Avengers is a 1998 American satirical spy action comedy film directed by Jeremiah Chechik, an adaptation of the 1961–1969 British television series of the same name. It stars Ralph Fiennes and Uma Thurman as secret agents John Steed and Emma Peel, and Sean Connery as Sir August de Wynter, a mad scientist bent on controlling the world's weather. Patrick Macnee, Steed in the original series, makes a vocal cameo as the voice of Invisible Jones.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brenda Blethyn</span> British actress (born 1946)

Brenda Blethyn is an English actress. Known for her character work and versatility, she is the recipient of various accolades, including a Golden Globe, a BAFTA, and a Cannes Film Festival Award, as well as nominations for two Academy Awards and two Primetime Emmys. She was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to drama in 2003.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Judy Greer</span> American actress (born 1975)

Judith Therese Evans, known professionally as Judy Greer, is an American actress. She is primarily known as a character actress who has appeared in a wide variety of films. She rose to prominence for her supporting roles in the films Jawbreaker (1999), What Women Want (2000), 13 Going on 30 (2004), Elizabethtown (2005), 27 Dresses (2008), and Love & Other Drugs (2010).

<i>Tumbleweeds</i> (1999 film) 1999 film by Gavin OConnor

Tumbleweeds is a 1999 American comedy-drama film directed by Gavin O'Connor. O'Connor co-wrote the screenplay with his then-wife Angela Shelton, based on Shelton's childhood memories spent on the road with her serial-marrying mother. It stars Janet McTeer, Kimberly J. Brown and Jay O. Sanders.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Teresa Palmer</span> Australian actress (born 1986)

Teresa Mary Palmer is an Australian actress. A prominent scream queen, she is known for her roles in horror films, as well as projects of other genres in both Australia and the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taylor Schilling</span> American actress (born 1984)

Taylor Jane Schilling is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Piper Chapman on the Netflix original comedy-drama series Orange Is the New Black (2013–2019), for which she received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series and two Golden Globe Award nominations for Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy and Best Actress – Television Series Drama. She made her film debut in the 2007 drama Dark Matter. She also starred as Nurse Veronica Flanagan Callahan in the short-lived NBC medical drama Mercy (2009–2010). Her other films include Atlas Shrugged: Part I (2011), the romantic drama The Lucky One (2012), the comedy Take Me (2017), and the science-fiction thriller The Titan (2018).

<i>Last Train Home</i> (film) 2009 Canadian film

Last Train Home is a 2009 Canadian documentary film directed by Lixin Fan and produced by Daniel Cross and Mila Aung-Thwin of EyeSteelFilm. It won the Best Documentary Feature at 2009 IDFA and has been distributed by Zeitgeist Films in the US.

<i>Children of Invention</i> 2009 American film

Children of Invention is an American independent feature film written and directed by Tze Chun. It premiered at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival, screened at more than 50 film festivals, and won 17 festival awards including 8 Grand Jury or Best Narrative Feature prizes. The film was released theatrically in eight U.S. cities beginning February 2010, on Video-on-Demand in June 2010, and on DVD in August 2010.

<i>Happythankyoumoreplease</i> 2010 American film

Happythankyoumoreplease is a 2010 comedy-drama film written and directed by Josh Radnor in his directorial debut. The film features Radnor, Malin Åkerman, Kate Mara, Zoe Kazan, Michael Algieri, Pablo Schreiber, and Tony Hale, in the story of a group of young New Yorkers, struggling to balance love, friendship, and their encroaching adulthoods.

<i>The Kids Are All Right</i> (film) 2010 film by Lisa Cholodenko

The Kids Are All Right is a 2010 American comedy-drama film directed by Lisa Cholodenko and written by Cholodenko and Stuart Blumberg. It is among the first mainstream movies to show a same-sex couple raising two teenagers. A hit at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival, it opened in limited release on July 9, 2010, expanded to more theaters on July 30, 2010, and was released on DVD and Blu-ray on November 16, 2010. The film was awarded the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy and Annette Bening was awarded the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy. The film also received four Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture, at the 83rd Academy Awards. As of 2024, it is the last film Cholodenko has directed.

<i>Goats</i> (film) 2012 American film

Goats is a 2012 comedy-drama film directed by Christopher Neil and written by Mark Poirier based on his 2000 novel Goats. The film stars David Duchovny, Vera Farmiga, Graham Phillips, Keri Russell, Justin Kirk, and Ty Burrell. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 24, 2012, and was given a limited release in the United States on August 10, 2012, by Image Entertainment.

My Nikifor is a 2004 Polish drama film directed by Krzysztof Krauze. It is based on the life of Nikifor, a folk and naïve painter.

<i>Ten Thousand Saints</i> 2015 American film

Ten Thousand Saints is a 2015 American drama film written and directed by Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini. It is based on the novel of the same name by Eleanor Henderson. The film stars Asa Butterfield as Jude Keffy-Horn, the protagonist of the story.

<i>The Diary of a Teenage Girl</i> 2015 American film

The Diary of a Teenage Girl is a 2015 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Marielle Heller, based on the hybrid novel of the same name by Phoebe Gloeckner. It stars Bel Powley as a 15-year-old girl who becomes sexually active by starting a relationship with her mother's boyfriend. It also stars Kristen Wiig, Alexander Skarsgård, Christopher Meloni, Quinn Nagle, and Austin Lyon. It premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival and had a limited release on August 7, 2015, by Sony Pictures Classics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eliza Hittman</span> American film director

Eliza Hittman is an American screenwriter, film director, and producer from New York City. She has won multiple awards for her film Never Rarely Sometimes Always, which include the New York Film Critics Circle Award and the National Society of Film Critics Award—both for best screenplay.

<i>The Con Is On</i> 2018 film

The Con Is On is a 2018 heist comedy film directed by James Oakley and co-written by Alex Michaelides and Oakley. The film stars Uma Thurman, Tim Roth, Alice Eve, Sofía Vergara and Maggie Q.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lulu Wang (filmmaker)</span> American filmmaker

Lulu Wang is a Chinese-born American filmmaker. She is best known for writing and directing the comedy-drama films Posthumous (2014) and The Farewell (2019). For the latter, she received the Independent Spirit Award for Best Film and the film was named one of the top ten films of 2019 by the American Film Institute. Wang has also written, produced, and directed several short films, documentaries, and music videos.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Miller, Winter (April 16, 2008). "Thurman prepares for 'Motherhood'". Variety . Retrieved October 3, 2008.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Barnes, Brooks (January 24, 2009). "Suddenly, Hollywood Seems a Conservative Investment". The New York Times . Retrieved November 15, 2010.
  3. Motherhood at Box Office Mojo
  4. McCarthy, Todd (December 4, 2008). "More star power at Sundance". Variety . Retrieved December 29, 2008.
  5. 1 2 3 Belkin, Lisa (October 16, 2009). "Mommy Tracks, on Screen and Off". The New York Times. Retrieved November 15, 2010.
  6. McNary, Dave (July 9, 2009). "Freestyle sets date for 'Motherhood'". Variety . Retrieved July 16, 2009.
  7. 1 2 Hill, Amelia (March 26, 2010). "The Uma Thurman film so bad it made £88 on opening weekend". The Guardian . London. Retrieved March 27, 2010.
  8. 1 2 Codling, Kit (March 28, 2010). "Uma Thurman film is mother of all flops". The Sunday Times . Archived from the original on June 15, 2011. Retrieved November 15, 2010.
  9. "Motherhood". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved May 25, 2020.
  10. Ebert, Roger (October 21, 2009). "Motherhood". Chicago Sun-Times . Retrieved November 15, 2010.
  11. Scott, A.O. (October 23, 2009). "Motherhood (2009): Manhattan Mom, Burning Home Fires at Both Ends". The New York Times. Retrieved November 15, 2010.
  12. "Awards for Motherhood". IMDb . Retrieved November 15, 2010.
  13. "DesdemonaNamed Best Film ... at 25th Boston Film Festival" (PDF) (Press release). Boston Film Festival. September 24, 2009. Retrieved 2010-11-15.
  14. "Uma Thurman Will Receive Film Excellence Award at 2009 Boston Film Festival" (PDF) (Press release). Boston Film Festival. September 1, 2009. Retrieved 2010-11-15.