Mammal (2016) User Reviews

Mammals: strange creatures that often lack proper motive

[JPfanatic93 · 6/10 · 16 April 2016]

Why would a new mother abandon her child and husband? It's an intriguing question, usually surrounded with heavy social stigma, since any mother denying her maternal instincts is either downright abject or at the least a bad excuse for a person, or so society swiftly judges. Nevertheless, it happens and it begs an answer. Those looking for one will not find it in Mammal. In fact, though at first thought the movie seems to revolve around a mother who accepts a second chance for motherhood, that may be too much of a generalization. But some sort of connection, both emotional and physical, between two vastly different but equally lost souls, is certainly in order in this narrative.

Margaret abandoned her family soon after her son was born, and she now has been out of their lives for 18 years. When news about her son's disappearance reaches her, not much sorrow is demonstrated. Nevertheless, around the same time, she accepts a wild kid from the street, roughly the same age as her own child, to live with her. The big question obviously being why. A simple act of generosity? Or perhaps another shot at maternity, after foregoing that responsibility all those years ago? For a while, the latter option seems to be the case, but when things get overly physical between her and the boy, Joe, that theory doesn't hold up any more. If motherhood is indeed Margaret's objective, she has some odd notions of the concept at least.

Unfortunately, Mammal - the title suggests a nurturing nature to their relationship based on maternal instincts, though there's also an undeniable social aspect to it as well, so one can look at it from both angles - is short on motivations. It's not Daly's intention to spoon feed us all the answers, which is fine, but there's simply too few of those concerning the various characters' actions to go around. Things happen as they do, while particular reasons are entirely up to the viewer to come up with. It makes Mammal a rather hollow film. Thankfully, there's strong performances throughout, which do make us care enough to stick with the protagonists rather than lose all interest entirely. We hardly get to know these people to the extent that we should for Mammal to deliver the gripping drama it feels like it wants to, but as fellow mammals we sympathize enough to feel some emotional connection to stick with them for a good hour and a half.

a simple story, two excellent actors, good direction

[abs7110 · 7/10 · 25 November 2023]

I really appreciate films that tell stories in a touching and simple way. In this Mammal succeeds very well. It's a story about people we might know, who might be our neighbors, or ourselves. It's a simple, direct, frank story. No morals, laws and filters, just instinct and almost primordial feelings. A story of contrasts, especially regarding the female protagonist. A woman evidently devoid of maternal instinct, but not insensitive. A story, especially for the boy, at least partly of redemption. I enjoyed spending time with Margareth and Joe and sharing their lives. Very good acting, excellent directing. There is no need for excessive dialogues and soundtracks for those who know how to direct and recite glances and silences. Could it have been a better film? Perhaps. But it certainly didn't disappoint me.

I didn't quite get it.

[sadepoint · 6/10 · 4 May 2024]

The actors in this movie are good, from the lead actress to the guy playing her ex husband, and even the young men in the movie who are minor characters. The thing that didn't allow me to like this movie more is the fact that given that premise of the movie is so uncomfortable, I feel like the writing or the script could have done more to make me as a viewer, fully understand why the characters behaved the way that they did. I understand that some movies suffer when there is over explaining and too much exposition going on, but to me this movie did not do enough explaining.

For example, the lead character is tormented by loneliness and what appears to be guilt from not being a present or good mother to her recently deceased son. The movie never really gives us much of a clue or real reason as to why she was never a present mother? What was it about being a parent that she could not handle that made her abandon her son?

She meets and becomes overly friendly with a young man with an ambiguous troubled background. This woman never once as a responsible adult takes it upon herself to contact social services or the boy's parents, and if this were real life it would just be a terrible safeguarding issue, particularly because the boy never says his age outright so he could have been anywhere from 17 to possibly 19; and if he was underage it makes the premise of the film even more jarring. It is implied that she knows that he is stealing from her and she seems okay with that for some reason? Perhaps we're supposed to the believe that desperate loneliness is why she keeps this young man around who clearly needs better guidance and care. Because key questions like these are never properly answered you never quite feel like (or at least I did not feel like) you have a clear understanding of what the characters motives are.

The two lead characters sleep together, and if that had been the main character's intent the entire time, to have a sexual relationship, then it does not make sense to me why she then later rejects his interest; after they sleep together. I did like how the film explored the complicated relationship between her and her ex, and how he only really seemed to want to be around her recently in order to grieve their son. The ex beats up the young man, which did not make much sense to me either because the ex is upset with her and the young boy is ultimately in a situation where he is dealing with consequences of her irresponsible actions. The young boy is not a completely innocent party, as mentioned before he is troubled, however he is taken advantage of. My main gripe with this movie is that I don't think it presented the audience with fully fleshed out characters. The young man is sort of reduced to an angry juvenile, even though the actor playing him does allow him to have some emotional depth, you're never really given a reason as to why he is so angry. The main character is an unlikeable protaganist, but to me she does not have to be likeable for it to have been a better movie, I just never got a full scope of why the character is the way that she is, what are the real underlying reasons as to why she does the things she does? So much of it is implied but not in away that makes enough sense to me.

Imagine this one with the genders reversed

[random-70778 · 11 January 2022]

Imagine if the genders i this were reversed all around. Would it be "tender?" A "poignant tale" of fatherhood if a man abandoned his wife and baby daughter, and when his young daughter disappeared, he takes in a 15 year old runaway girl, who reminds him of his daughter -- and start sleeping with her? Would he be an "interesting" character?

This film is so callow as to present such a story sympathetically.

2 broken people,one depressing movie

[brandyjirik · 4/10 · 16 July 2018]

If the director was trying to make the viewer uncomfortable, confused and depressed then he accomplished that much.The movie was basically about a broken woman and a troubled,obviously hurting young man who she decided to take in to her home.The events that took place during the film were slow,awkward and strange to say the least but not in an enjoyable way.The movie went absolutely no where and even tho the acting was very good it couldn't make up for everything else it was lacking.

SHOW, DON'T TELL

[binuserkaf · 10/10 · 27 July 2021]

This quickly became one of my all time favorite movies.

It's a quiet movie. An intimate movie. A movie that truly feels like you're there in the scenes with them no matter what's going on. A movie that knows exactly what a close up is and the best way to use it to add something to the scene - and knows when to use a wide shot too. A movie that knows that silence is just as loud and effective as sound. Rebecca Daly is one of my favorite directors of all time now. I've never seen anyone present intimacy and feelings and emotions the way she did with this movie.

Astonishing is what it is. I loved every minute and will certainly be watching again for my own enjoyment and to study the ins and outs of this intense work of art.