Shadows on the Wall | The Mother

The Mother

dir Niki Caro
scr Misha Green, Andrea Berloff, Peter Craig
prd Marc Evans, Jennifer Lopez, Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas, Benny Medina, Misha Green
with Jennifer Lopez, Lucy Paez, Omari Hardwick, Joseph Fiennes, Gael Garcia Bernal, Paul Raci, Jesse Garcia, Yvonne Senat Jones, Edie Falco, Michael Karl Richards, Link Baker, Mayumi Yoshida
release US/UK 12.May.23
23/US Netflix 1h55

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Maternal instincts add some engaging complications to this lively gender-flipped variation on Taken. Director Niki Caro maintains a character-centred vibe, which gives the film a steely urgency even if the action beats and emotional moments are by-the-books and accompanied by a generic score. But there are stylised flourishes over the extended running time, and of course it's great to see Jennifer Lopez launch so fiercely into heroic action mode.

A quick-thinking sniper known only as the Mother (Lopez) has her new-born daughter taken into protective custody because aggressive mercenary Adrian (Fiennes) and arms dealer Hector (Garcia Bernal) are both trying to kill her. After hiding for 12 years in rural Alaska with former colleague Jons (Raci), the Mother is contacted by FBI Agent Cruise (Hardwick), who warns her of a threat to now pre-teen Zoe (Paez). So she kicks into protective action mode. And when Zoe is kidnapped, the Mother and Cruise head to Cuba to find Hector. But this is only the beginning.

When asked whether Zoe is Adrian's or Hector's daughter, The Mother snaps: "She's mine!" Flashbacks allow for glimpses of romantic glamour that contrast with the present-day grit of assaults, shootouts and face-offs. Violence is sudden and often surprisingly nasty as unnamed goons are dispatched without a thought for collateral damage. But there's an emotional kick in how this mother and daughter have no connection until they hide out together, getting ready for the snowy finale.

Lopez puts her considerable presence to explosive use without turning into a superhuman killing machine. She's clearly a damaged soul, so her journey includes a strong arc that bends toward healing, even amid considerable carnage. Hardwick provides his own energy as the sensitive hunk who is able to bridge the prickly gap between the Mother and Zoe, played with edgy preteen energy by Paez. And Fiennes and Garcia Bernal make the most of their one-note snarling villains.

Grounded moments add textures to undermine the genre cliches while pulling the audience into various heightened situations. So even with the familiar premise, the movie has some surprises, such as in a frank conversation about how violence infuses every aspect of our lives, whether or not we know it. For the Mother, killing is more instinctive than relating to someone, but everything she does reveals the feelings she is incapable of expressing. So as corny as it gets, the film keeps us gripped right to its final showdown.

themes, language, violence 11.May.23

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