This is a mesmerizingly slow film set almost entirely in one room..... it could almost be a play. However Adrian Noble thankfully focuses on the two main actors and we are gradually sucked in to their closed little world. Both Spall and Redgrave give towering complementary performances which keep the audience completely entranced from the beginning. Redgrave especially manages to create a relentlessly critical and bitter character without the viewer ever hating her for it.. and Spall has grown into a confident and creative character actor of the highest order. Beautiful cinematography and set design make this film artistically watchable. If you like slow burning drama then this is a treat.
56 Reviews
A good film but an acting masterclass by Timothy Spall is worth the ticket price alone
coombsstephen3 September 2019
This is a simple and quite short film that brings to life one of Britain's most beloved artists and the life that he endured waiting hand and foot on his elderly mother.
Although the film is quite basic the acting of Timothy Spall and, to a degree, Vanessa Redgrave makes the film great. Spall now seems to be able to morph into any different British character, whether real or fiction, and completely make them his own. He must be one of the most understated great actors of our time.
I would like to have seen more of how Lowry came to paint such classics but the film does have a good angle and is really enjoyable.
Although the film is quite basic the acting of Timothy Spall and, to a degree, Vanessa Redgrave makes the film great. Spall now seems to be able to morph into any different British character, whether real or fiction, and completely make them his own. He must be one of the most understated great actors of our time.
I would like to have seen more of how Lowry came to paint such classics but the film does have a good angle and is really enjoyable.
Acting (and painting) masterclass
davidgee11 September 2019
As the title indicates, this is very much a film about Lowry's mother Elizabeth, a chronically ill malingerer, housebound and demanding. She despises almost every one of his early canvases, but when she warms to a picture of ships in the local canal and gives him two shillings to submit it to an exhibition in Manchester, she opens the door to his future glory. A showdown at home is the dramatic climax of this essentially domestic and un-dramatic narrative.
Timothy Spall and Vanessa Redgrave give performances which we have seen in other films, subtly shaded to fit this restrained and evocative story. Adrian Noble has directed a slow-burning movie with few "fireworks", but it offers an acting (and painting) master-class.
Timothy Spall and Vanessa Redgrave give performances which we have seen in other films, subtly shaded to fit this restrained and evocative story. Adrian Noble has directed a slow-burning movie with few "fireworks", but it offers an acting (and painting) master-class.
Interesting insight to one of Britain's great artists
paul_mossop-964262 January 2020
Interesting insight to one of Britain's great artists, and worth the watch to see a master class in acting by Redgrave & Spall.
It's not a feel good movie by any means, largely set in Lowry's ailing mothers bedroom. It's clear he loved actually worshiped his mum, and her affect on his life is profound. Even when she finally died. I did enjoy the film, mainly as I said because of the acting and story however be warned it is a biopic, not a feel good movie at all .. enjoy!
Superb performances with limited material
muamba_eats_toast3 September 2019
Timothy spall in particular was fantastic as in fairness he always is in portraying the raw emotion of his character through with Redgrave not far off. In honesty I enjoyed this film but could not get over excited about it as it is ultimately a series of often mundane bedroom conversations between a bitter mother and loving son. The fact it kept my attention in this setting was an achievement in itself. I would personally have liked to seen more focus on the art itself in between or a larger portion of his life but for what it was the performances really maximised it's entertainment level and make it a worthwhile and interesting hour and a half despite its limitations.
How many of these are left?
maniort26 December 2019
This is a gem, precious in every way, and makes you wonder how much longer we'll be able to invest this kind of attention and feeling into film. Half a generation more?
I'm beginning to understand the internet, ratings, and what they mean about who we are. They point, just not in the right way.
Slow and meandering, but ok
William_Binks_Cinematographer30 August 2019
If you go to see this... see it for the performances, and know it's one of those films which will stick with you more than when you viewed it itself- if that makes sense. It's a worthy film alone if you're also an art fan. The film mostly takes place in one room and with that most of its merit I feel is born.
See Spall in his better artist film 'Mr. Turner', however if you must see more- this is a nice companion piece of sorts.
7/10. (Maybe 7.5 ;)
See Spall in his better artist film 'Mr. Turner', however if you must see more- this is a nice companion piece of sorts.
7/10. (Maybe 7.5 ;)
Superb bio pic oscar material
Padreviews27 August 2019
Drama at its best .
Almost a single set throughout the whole film. The relationship between an overpowering mother and a son in desperate need for acceptance by the one person who refused to acknowledge his talents was the central theme .
Absolutely top class acting by Spall and Redgrave .
The sad thing is that more people will probably go and see the latest Fast and Furious franchise than this and they'll never know what they missed .
Stay for the end for the documentary in the Lowry museum with Timothy Spall and the museum curator .
Brilliant 10/10
Almost a single set throughout the whole film. The relationship between an overpowering mother and a son in desperate need for acceptance by the one person who refused to acknowledge his talents was the central theme .
Absolutely top class acting by Spall and Redgrave .
The sad thing is that more people will probably go and see the latest Fast and Furious franchise than this and they'll never know what they missed .
Stay for the end for the documentary in the Lowry museum with Timothy Spall and the museum curator .
Brilliant 10/10
Heart wrenching
Gordon-1123 February 2020
The old Lady in the bed and her son the Painter.
Trey_BigTime_Film_Critic31 July 2019
I got very lucky on this one as I wandered into a senior cits viewing. At the beginning they tittered and the ones who felt they always should get their money's worth - guffawed. Oh she was so sweet & humurous the old Lady in the bed with just harmless jibes at her son. But then when it never stops, and we hear things like ( to paraphrase): "it is important to always be seen in a good light by your neighbours" as well she only began to see her son's talent when a recently entrenched neighbour with bourgeois pretensions said his seaside painting was delightful - did she then consider it. This is a deeply ingrained bourgeois-ism in the English psyche~and not say like Gerard Depardieu not wanting to appear in a Truffaut movie because he felt he had 'gone bourgeois' - you don't go bourgeois - it is a heavily sanctioned part of the society you grow up in. Luckily through all the turmoil he kept at his painting because near the end of his life they were worth a fortune. And as we learn about how little support he had as an artist the audience quietened down considerably - reflecting you would think on bourgeois pretensions of their own.
Doesn't do Lowry enough justice
epaulguest2 October 2019
This film is mostly a 'two-hander'. It is set in 1934, when Lowry (Timothy Spall) was showing promise as an artist. It's quite intense and well acted, but sadly I don't think it represents his life or work adequately.
He only seems from the film to go about his day job, often pursued by cheeky kids, and then go home - at the same time every day - to his domineering and disapproving mother (Vanessa Redgrave). They both talk for hours in her claustrophobic bedroom, till he goes upstairs and secretly paints. It's worth noting that the director, Adrian Noble, also works in theatre.
The pair's conversations must be imaginary. However, Elizabeth Lowry is known to have been embittered at 'coming down in the world' to a lower-class industrial area, well conveyed in the film by long terraces on steep hills. She takes a rosy-eyed view of a neighbour, Mrs Stanhope (Wendy Morgan), who strikes her as posh. Dramatic irony: Mrs Stanhope and her husband (Stephen Lord) aren't happy together.
Lowry spies on Mrs Stanhope and it seems to be implied that he finds women inscrutable. There's no hint that he in fact had platonic female friends and was a football supporter, and also had a mischievous sense of humour (though it's amusing that he has clocks around the house, all telling different times - which is based on fact).
Vanessa Redgrave comes across as 'shabby-genteel' and tiresome but with some flashes of sensitivity. Timothy Spall gives Lowry a bemused manner and facial expression, as though never able to understand his mother. Both performances are memorable but I just don't think the film does Lowry enough justice.
An engaging short film is shown afterwards, 'Looking at Lowry', with Claire Stewart, a curator at 'The Lowry' in Salford.
He only seems from the film to go about his day job, often pursued by cheeky kids, and then go home - at the same time every day - to his domineering and disapproving mother (Vanessa Redgrave). They both talk for hours in her claustrophobic bedroom, till he goes upstairs and secretly paints. It's worth noting that the director, Adrian Noble, also works in theatre.
The pair's conversations must be imaginary. However, Elizabeth Lowry is known to have been embittered at 'coming down in the world' to a lower-class industrial area, well conveyed in the film by long terraces on steep hills. She takes a rosy-eyed view of a neighbour, Mrs Stanhope (Wendy Morgan), who strikes her as posh. Dramatic irony: Mrs Stanhope and her husband (Stephen Lord) aren't happy together.
Lowry spies on Mrs Stanhope and it seems to be implied that he finds women inscrutable. There's no hint that he in fact had platonic female friends and was a football supporter, and also had a mischievous sense of humour (though it's amusing that he has clocks around the house, all telling different times - which is based on fact).
Vanessa Redgrave comes across as 'shabby-genteel' and tiresome but with some flashes of sensitivity. Timothy Spall gives Lowry a bemused manner and facial expression, as though never able to understand his mother. Both performances are memorable but I just don't think the film does Lowry enough justice.
An engaging short film is shown afterwards, 'Looking at Lowry', with Claire Stewart, a curator at 'The Lowry' in Salford.
Beckettian
ferdinand193223 December 2019
This marvelous film is steeped in Beckettian tropes and style. The mother son relationship is akin to Hamm and Clov in 'Endgame', or it might be Winnie in 'Happy Days'.
Even the reality of Lowry and his mother is not so far from Beckett and his own fractious relationship with his mother. Vanessa Redgrave even resembles Beckett as an old man with his spectacles.
The film echoes Beckett's maxim, 'to fail again, fail better' almost with the same sense as Lowry follows his own path against the odds and faces years of rejection and hostility, not the least from his mother who lacks imagination and only understands what she sees, not the meaning. Indeed the film has a very strong layers of social history in it as it reveals the neuroses and social anxieties of the period in England.
The excellent script is matched by admirable directing and editing together with technical features to make the 1930s flat and town vivid.
And then there are performances from Spall and Redgrave which are the pinnacle of skill and empathy. It is a consummate and perfectly poised interaction between the two.
If only other films gave their audience as much.
Even the reality of Lowry and his mother is not so far from Beckett and his own fractious relationship with his mother. Vanessa Redgrave even resembles Beckett as an old man with his spectacles.
The film echoes Beckett's maxim, 'to fail again, fail better' almost with the same sense as Lowry follows his own path against the odds and faces years of rejection and hostility, not the least from his mother who lacks imagination and only understands what she sees, not the meaning. Indeed the film has a very strong layers of social history in it as it reveals the neuroses and social anxieties of the period in England.
The excellent script is matched by admirable directing and editing together with technical features to make the 1930s flat and town vivid.
And then there are performances from Spall and Redgrave which are the pinnacle of skill and empathy. It is a consummate and perfectly poised interaction between the two.
If only other films gave their audience as much.
The Harridan of Station Road
JamesHitchcock7 September 2019
Laurence Stephen Lowry is one of my favourite painters, so when I heard that a film about him had been released I rushed to see it. Lowry, of course, is famous for his paintings of industrial scenes; he is one of those artists who can express a deeply spiritual vision of the world by concentrating on a small geographical area with a particular meaning for him. What the Stour Valley was to Constable, the countryside around Arles to Van Gogh, Argenteuil and the Parisian suburbs to the Impressionists, his wife's native Perthshire to Millais and North London to Algernon Newton, the industrial towns of his native Lancashire were to Lowry.
The film is based upon a stage play, and with its small cast and limited number of settings is obviously a piece of "filmed theatre". Most of the action takes place in a single, very precise, location, a bedroom at 117 Station Road, Pendlebury, Lancashire. The year is 1934. Lowry is starting to win recognition, but despite his success he still works in a humble job as a rent collector and lives in a small terraced house with his elderly widowed mother Elizabeth, his father having died two years earlier.
Elizabeth Lowry is an embittered, bedridden invalid, but, surprisingly, her bitterness is caused not by the state of her health but by the failure of her ambitions, both professional and social. As a young woman she had dreams of becoming a concert pianist, but these came to nothing. She was originally from a middle-class background and still resents the fact that financial circumstances forced the family to move from the wealthy Manchester suburb of Victoria Park to the nearby industrial, predominantly working-class, town of Pendlebury, even though the move took place as long ago as 1909. I sometimes wonder how Lowry's art might have developed had the family remained in Victoria Park. Would he, for example, have become a Northern equivalent of Newton or a latter-day Atkinson Grimshaw, the Victorian artist who often took inspiration from city suburbs, especially in his home town of Leeds?
She disapproves of her son's career as an artist, particularly as most of his paintings depict industrial scenes in the surrounding area, a choice of subject-matter which she regards as "low" and "vulgar". She only shows any appreciation for him when one of his more conventionally picturesque works, showing sailing-boats on a river, is praised by a neighbour, Mrs Stanhope. (Mrs Lowry takes Mrs Stanhope's opinions seriously because the two women share similar pretensions to middle-class gentility). The film is essentially a dramatisation of Lowry's struggles to cope with the demands of his selfish, overbearing mother.
Timothy Spall may have been cast as Lowry because, after his success in Mike Leigh's "Mr Turner", someone has obviously got hold of the idea that he is a specialist in biopics about English artists. Here, however, he is too old for the part he is playing; in 1934 Lowry would still have been in his forties, whereas Spall is 62, and, in this film at least, looks older. In reality he is just about young enough to be Vanessa Redgrave's son- there are twenty years between them- but here they look more like two people from the same generation, brother and sister rather than mother and son.
If one can overlook this problem with the characters' ages, Spall and Redgrave are both very good. Elizabeth is in many ways a spiteful domestic tyrant, yet Redgrave manages to make her seem pitiable rather than detestable. The pity lies in the fact that a woman who could have given much to the world should have wasted so much time in petty, snobbish resentments and that someone who clearly had artistic sensibilities herself should have been so blind to her son's genius. Spall's Lowry is very far from the common stereotype of the artistic genius as temperamental egotist- a humble self-effacing man with no airs and graces, willing to sacrifice much for his domineering mother, but not his art.
I have never seen the original play, so do not know how it works on stage, but I do not feel it was the best starting-point for a film about Lowry's life. The film left me wanting to know so much more about Lowry- about the beginning of his career, about his discovery of local Lancashire scenes as his main subject-matter, about his father, who is only seen briefly in flashback. I even wanted to know more about Elizabeth Lowry herself, about how the beautiful and talented young woman we see in the flashback scenes ended up as the bitter old harridan of 117 Station Road. "Mr Turner" is a film with a great breadth of vision; the more restricted, claustrophobic "Mrs Lowry and Son" is not. 7/10
The film is based upon a stage play, and with its small cast and limited number of settings is obviously a piece of "filmed theatre". Most of the action takes place in a single, very precise, location, a bedroom at 117 Station Road, Pendlebury, Lancashire. The year is 1934. Lowry is starting to win recognition, but despite his success he still works in a humble job as a rent collector and lives in a small terraced house with his elderly widowed mother Elizabeth, his father having died two years earlier.
Elizabeth Lowry is an embittered, bedridden invalid, but, surprisingly, her bitterness is caused not by the state of her health but by the failure of her ambitions, both professional and social. As a young woman she had dreams of becoming a concert pianist, but these came to nothing. She was originally from a middle-class background and still resents the fact that financial circumstances forced the family to move from the wealthy Manchester suburb of Victoria Park to the nearby industrial, predominantly working-class, town of Pendlebury, even though the move took place as long ago as 1909. I sometimes wonder how Lowry's art might have developed had the family remained in Victoria Park. Would he, for example, have become a Northern equivalent of Newton or a latter-day Atkinson Grimshaw, the Victorian artist who often took inspiration from city suburbs, especially in his home town of Leeds?
She disapproves of her son's career as an artist, particularly as most of his paintings depict industrial scenes in the surrounding area, a choice of subject-matter which she regards as "low" and "vulgar". She only shows any appreciation for him when one of his more conventionally picturesque works, showing sailing-boats on a river, is praised by a neighbour, Mrs Stanhope. (Mrs Lowry takes Mrs Stanhope's opinions seriously because the two women share similar pretensions to middle-class gentility). The film is essentially a dramatisation of Lowry's struggles to cope with the demands of his selfish, overbearing mother.
Timothy Spall may have been cast as Lowry because, after his success in Mike Leigh's "Mr Turner", someone has obviously got hold of the idea that he is a specialist in biopics about English artists. Here, however, he is too old for the part he is playing; in 1934 Lowry would still have been in his forties, whereas Spall is 62, and, in this film at least, looks older. In reality he is just about young enough to be Vanessa Redgrave's son- there are twenty years between them- but here they look more like two people from the same generation, brother and sister rather than mother and son.
If one can overlook this problem with the characters' ages, Spall and Redgrave are both very good. Elizabeth is in many ways a spiteful domestic tyrant, yet Redgrave manages to make her seem pitiable rather than detestable. The pity lies in the fact that a woman who could have given much to the world should have wasted so much time in petty, snobbish resentments and that someone who clearly had artistic sensibilities herself should have been so blind to her son's genius. Spall's Lowry is very far from the common stereotype of the artistic genius as temperamental egotist- a humble self-effacing man with no airs and graces, willing to sacrifice much for his domineering mother, but not his art.
I have never seen the original play, so do not know how it works on stage, but I do not feel it was the best starting-point for a film about Lowry's life. The film left me wanting to know so much more about Lowry- about the beginning of his career, about his discovery of local Lancashire scenes as his main subject-matter, about his father, who is only seen briefly in flashback. I even wanted to know more about Elizabeth Lowry herself, about how the beautiful and talented young woman we see in the flashback scenes ended up as the bitter old harridan of 117 Station Road. "Mr Turner" is a film with a great breadth of vision; the more restricted, claustrophobic "Mrs Lowry and Son" is not. 7/10
Depressing tale of parental abuse light on art
james-6794115 February 2020
LS Lowry, a great artist played by the great Timothy Spall in a movie that chooses instead to focus not on his art (there is 1 minute of that in the first 30) but on his stuck up mother's hatred of her son and her constant denial of his genius. This tale 99% of the mice rather than his art. The title is accurate and Vanessa Redgrave plays the repetitive unending scenes of abuse over and over for the length of a film as if the director could not decide which were the best abuse scenes so they were dumped wholesale on the audience when that part of his life could have conveyed in 2-3 of such episodes while letting us see his art growing.
Instead we are told at the end that the same year she finally died (an event I was hoping for from the tenth minute) that he got his first major retrospective. So, contrary to the story told in this movie, he was doing more for all those years than being abused by his mother and making her dinners to complain about.
Instead we are told at the end that the same year she finally died (an event I was hoping for from the tenth minute) that he got his first major retrospective. So, contrary to the story told in this movie, he was doing more for all those years than being abused by his mother and making her dinners to complain about.
I paint what what I see ,nothing more,nothing less
blauregenbogen8 September 2019
A bit of saccharin helps
PipAndSqueak4 September 2019
Certain of Lowry's paintings have become iconic since the painter's death so, we cannot really feel the rejection he is subjected to by his screen mother, Vanessa Redgrave. Redgrave gives somewhat of a likeable performance of a woman who by all accounts was a harridan with ideas well above her station in life. The real Mrs Lowry did suffer some unfortunate life experiences and yes, blaming her son - whose birth was extremely difficult - is understandable to an extent. However, to persist with this attitude towards her son for 52 years is damnable. We don't really get to see this real nastiness in this saccharined and tidied up portrayal. For all its faults though, Spall and Redgrave give a creditable sense of depth to this brief view of one of Britain's most beloved modern artist's life. Older viewers will spot a number of glaring prop errors but that still doesn't deflect from a nicely told fictional tale based on a real person.
Best film and acting I've seen for years
kevin-751-48929312 September 2019
I can imagine for those used to Hollywood films that this slow, gentle film might be difficult to warm to. For me it was a revelation, and so real! The acting was probably the best on the big screen that I have ever seen. So subtle and understated. I just so related to the film. An amazing hour and a half
A film that's quality sneaks up on you
studioAT15 September 2019
This is a nice little film, shining some light on the life of Lowry, one of the best artists the world has known.
It features two stellar performances from Spall and Redgrave, and makes some interesting points about the mother/son relationship.
It does feel slightly like a stage play rather than a film, and is probably a little overlong, but that doesn't take away anything from this quality film.
It features two stellar performances from Spall and Redgrave, and makes some interesting points about the mother/son relationship.
It does feel slightly like a stage play rather than a film, and is probably a little overlong, but that doesn't take away anything from this quality film.
A gorgeous little gem
u-emoli1 January 2020
gifts
Kirpianuscus2 July 2020
It is a lovely source of gifts. First of them - the superb work of Vanessa Redgrave and Timothy Spall. The second - the sketch of Lowry life. Not the last - the emotions defining the authenticity of relation between a mother, in her old frustrations and her son. A cold story in earthy colors. And a wise - delicate portrait of a connection . Good gifts - that is the main motif to see it .
Salford's son
kevin c15 March 2020
This is a film well-written, sharp and insightful on class and opportunity. But does feel very theatrical.
It's claustrophobic stuff. Mother trapped in the bedroom, and Lowry in the attic with his unfulfilled dreams. They come from different worlds. Lowry has made peace with the past, seeing beauty in his surroundings. Mother of the belief that her circumstances have made her somehow lesser.
"I haven't been cheerful since 1868, the day of my confirmation," is a line that sums up her contradictions perfectly. She's funny, but not a joke figure. Tragic, but she's not pitiful. Cruel, but she is no monster. Spall holds his own, his face flinching every time she launches into one of her put-downs.
The final reel is jarring as we venture to the (fantastic) dedicated museum in Salford.
It's claustrophobic stuff. Mother trapped in the bedroom, and Lowry in the attic with his unfulfilled dreams. They come from different worlds. Lowry has made peace with the past, seeing beauty in his surroundings. Mother of the belief that her circumstances have made her somehow lesser.
"I haven't been cheerful since 1868, the day of my confirmation," is a line that sums up her contradictions perfectly. She's funny, but not a joke figure. Tragic, but she's not pitiful. Cruel, but she is no monster. Spall holds his own, his face flinching every time she launches into one of her put-downs.
The final reel is jarring as we venture to the (fantastic) dedicated museum in Salford.
Pointless
eelen-seth4 December 2019
Adrian Noble's Mrs Lowry & Son paints a portrait of the artist L.S. Lowry and the relationship with his mother, who tries to dissuade him from pursuing his passion. This conventional drama never delivers anything fresh or outlandish and is as forgettable as they come.
When we first meet L.S. Lowry (Timothy Spall), wandering the streets of good old industrial Pendlebury, Lancashire, it quickly becomes clear he has a good soul and entertains poor children in the street, playing some version of hide and seek. He's been painting all his life, but has never had a breakthrough with his recently more depressing and naive art. He takes care of his bedridden mother Elizabeth (Vanessa Redgrave), who in her turn tries to push her small minded ideas and problems from the past onto him, to put him down in the most verbally aggressive ways.
Martyn Hesford's cinematic debut as a writer is off-putting and, as the title states, focuses almost solely on Mrs Lowry. Interestingly enough, this uneventful backstory on L.S. Lowry's adult life pre-fame, is trying very hard not to be a biopic, yet dips its toes in that pool, every time an on screen real life replica of one of Lowry's paintings, gets brought to life. This weird choice of almost painting-like cinematography doesn't fit in with the entirety of the film's vision and thus pulls you out of what the film is actually trying to tell. Strangely enough, how humdrum the film can be, the pacing is perfect and the 90 minutes drift by easily, without ever overstaying its welcome.
Vanessa Redgrave, being the main protagonist, gives an emotionally shattering performance as the woman who might have raised a son, but is now a vile and bitter old lady. She captures the essence of her character, changing her mind with the wind and hammering down on the artistic vision of her character's son, and never giving in to that motherly instinct. Timothy Spall as L.S. Lowry is mostly forgettable, apart from one scene in which a sudden outburst of emotions, gives him something to do, other than standing around muttering words and looking dull.
While Mrs Lowry & Son isn't anything remarkable whatsoever, it does give Vanessa Redgrave, as the impeccably powerful actress she is, a reason to paint another significant canvas to add to her already legendary collection of artistic choices. The film could've been absorbingly engrossing as part of an actual full length biopic on one of the most iconic British artists ever lived, since we rarely get anything of that sorts. If a director/writer duo ever decides to bring Lowry's story to the big screen, don't hold back, push through and tell the whole story on who this man and the people who influenced his life really wer
When we first meet L.S. Lowry (Timothy Spall), wandering the streets of good old industrial Pendlebury, Lancashire, it quickly becomes clear he has a good soul and entertains poor children in the street, playing some version of hide and seek. He's been painting all his life, but has never had a breakthrough with his recently more depressing and naive art. He takes care of his bedridden mother Elizabeth (Vanessa Redgrave), who in her turn tries to push her small minded ideas and problems from the past onto him, to put him down in the most verbally aggressive ways.
Martyn Hesford's cinematic debut as a writer is off-putting and, as the title states, focuses almost solely on Mrs Lowry. Interestingly enough, this uneventful backstory on L.S. Lowry's adult life pre-fame, is trying very hard not to be a biopic, yet dips its toes in that pool, every time an on screen real life replica of one of Lowry's paintings, gets brought to life. This weird choice of almost painting-like cinematography doesn't fit in with the entirety of the film's vision and thus pulls you out of what the film is actually trying to tell. Strangely enough, how humdrum the film can be, the pacing is perfect and the 90 minutes drift by easily, without ever overstaying its welcome.
Vanessa Redgrave, being the main protagonist, gives an emotionally shattering performance as the woman who might have raised a son, but is now a vile and bitter old lady. She captures the essence of her character, changing her mind with the wind and hammering down on the artistic vision of her character's son, and never giving in to that motherly instinct. Timothy Spall as L.S. Lowry is mostly forgettable, apart from one scene in which a sudden outburst of emotions, gives him something to do, other than standing around muttering words and looking dull.
While Mrs Lowry & Son isn't anything remarkable whatsoever, it does give Vanessa Redgrave, as the impeccably powerful actress she is, a reason to paint another significant canvas to add to her already legendary collection of artistic choices. The film could've been absorbingly engrossing as part of an actual full length biopic on one of the most iconic British artists ever lived, since we rarely get anything of that sorts. If a director/writer duo ever decides to bring Lowry's story to the big screen, don't hold back, push through and tell the whole story on who this man and the people who influenced his life really wer
Wonderful
jllsinclair11 January 2020
What a wonderful representation of Lowry's life with his mother.
Timothy Small as Lowry and Vanessa Redgrave as his mother were fantastic.
So authentic like the artist.
How does anyone survive lack of understanding or interest and so many put downs, art critics telling you you paint like a kid, and someone you love being embarrassed by you and your 'hobby' .
And yet he still carries on, not because he thinks he is something special: 'I am just a man, who paints', but almost like he has to. And he stays true to himself.
An artist story
ks-6050013 July 2020
Boring theme (to me) but filming not boring at all. "Nothing more nothing less". The painter and his mother story explains the style of his. Every artist style was get shape by painful encounters I wonder. Most of famous artists I heard have unusual grow up story and most are sad. This one again.
People get paid to make this boring crap
mrmatthewadams28 January 2020
Don't get me wrong - I went to art school. I know Lowry. I have spent my life in and around the art world. I don't need educating about Lowry and or his work. This, however is just an incredibly contrived and boring piece of cinema! Would anyone who knows nothing about Lowry have managed to get past the first five minutes? I doubt it. THIS is why I seldom pay to go to see movies anymore! Great actors - yes! Great movie, sadly no.
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