MRS LOWRY & SON
****
Director: Adrian Noble
Screenwriter: Martyn Hesford, based on his original play.
Principal cast:
Timothy Spall
Vanessa Redgrave
Stephen Lord
Wendy Morgan
Michael Keogh
John Alan Roberts
Country: UK
Classification: PG
Runtime: 91 mins.
Australian release date: 28 November 2019
Previewed at: British Film Festival 2019, Sydney.
Originally a radio play broadcast on BBC4 in 2012 and then adapted for the stage the following year, playwright Martyn Hesford has now transformed his work yet again, this time for the screen. Mrs Lowry & Son is directed by Adrian Noble, who was the Artistic Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company for many years and whose wonderful version of The Importance Of Being Earnest was shown in Australia in 2015, and he’s the perfect choice for a work with theatrical origins. He’s managed, however, to avoid making the viewer feel that they are looking at a filmed play even though it’s basically a two-hander, with the camera largely confined to the two-story terrace house occupied by the painter L. S. Lowry and his elderly mother.
Pendlebury, Lancashire, was the home of Laurence Stephen Lowry (Timothy Spall), where he lived with his ailing mother, Elizabeth (Vanessa Redgrave), who was basically bed-ridden and who relied on him to care for her. Until he was 22, the family lived in a better part of Manchester but financial pressures forced them to move to a working-class area and Elizabeth never got over it. Looking after her was a formidable task and it quickly becomes apparent that, although he was a doting son, Elizabeth was full of disdain for him and his artistic ambitions and she tried her hardest to dissuade him from them. She never missed an opportunity to tell him that he was a gross disappointment and lacked talent. Ironically, today Lowry is considered one of Britain’s greatest artists and his works depicting life in the industrial districts of North-West England in the mid-20th century sell for millions.
Recently screened as part of the British Film Festival in Australia, Mrs Lowry & Son showcases the best of British talent in the excellent performances by the two leads. Redgrave and Spall are without doubt two of the finest actors of their respective generations; at the age of 82, Redgrave continues to enthral her audience and in this role she is as obnoxious as she is mesmerizing. Her dialogue contains some very amusing, albeit totally insensitive, language and she delivers it superbly. Spall is her match as the resigned and tolerant man who is driven to paint - it’s in his very marrow - but who can’t convince ‘Moother’ of his worth. Spall learnt to paint for his portrayal of another great English painter in Mike Leigh’s Mr. Turner and his knowledge is used to good effect here. The use of Lowry’s fine works as backdrops in some scenes makes for a thoroughly satisfying experience and succeeds in placing the viewer into the stunning, though bleak, land and cityscapes.
In Mrs Lowry & Son, the camera moves from the kitchen and living area downstairs, to the bedroom upstairs where Elizabeth resides, taking her meals and conducting her tirades against her son, and up into the attic where he painted at night. It only rarely ventures outside and this claustrophobic atmosphere is realistically captured by the Catalonian cinematographer Josep M. Civit. His framing seems to hug the figures of the overbearing mother and the long-suffering son, whose lives are drowning in negativity, she constantly reproaching him and he living for the moment when he does something that might please her. At no time does Lowry defend himself, remaining stoic in the face of her criticism and caring beyond the call of duty.
This is a film worthy of BAFTA nominations and one suspects it will feature predominantly in next year’s awards. It’s a slyly funny creation, a wonderful opportunity to see two of England’s greatest thespians go head to head. If you appreciate impeccable acting and excellent writing, you won’t want to miss Mrs Lowry & Son.
Screenwriter: Martyn Hesford, based on his original play.
Principal cast:
Timothy Spall
Vanessa Redgrave
Stephen Lord
Wendy Morgan
Michael Keogh
John Alan Roberts
Country: UK
Classification: PG
Runtime: 91 mins.
Australian release date: 28 November 2019
Previewed at: British Film Festival 2019, Sydney.
Originally a radio play broadcast on BBC4 in 2012 and then adapted for the stage the following year, playwright Martyn Hesford has now transformed his work yet again, this time for the screen. Mrs Lowry & Son is directed by Adrian Noble, who was the Artistic Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company for many years and whose wonderful version of The Importance Of Being Earnest was shown in Australia in 2015, and he’s the perfect choice for a work with theatrical origins. He’s managed, however, to avoid making the viewer feel that they are looking at a filmed play even though it’s basically a two-hander, with the camera largely confined to the two-story terrace house occupied by the painter L. S. Lowry and his elderly mother.
Pendlebury, Lancashire, was the home of Laurence Stephen Lowry (Timothy Spall), where he lived with his ailing mother, Elizabeth (Vanessa Redgrave), who was basically bed-ridden and who relied on him to care for her. Until he was 22, the family lived in a better part of Manchester but financial pressures forced them to move to a working-class area and Elizabeth never got over it. Looking after her was a formidable task and it quickly becomes apparent that, although he was a doting son, Elizabeth was full of disdain for him and his artistic ambitions and she tried her hardest to dissuade him from them. She never missed an opportunity to tell him that he was a gross disappointment and lacked talent. Ironically, today Lowry is considered one of Britain’s greatest artists and his works depicting life in the industrial districts of North-West England in the mid-20th century sell for millions.
Recently screened as part of the British Film Festival in Australia, Mrs Lowry & Son showcases the best of British talent in the excellent performances by the two leads. Redgrave and Spall are without doubt two of the finest actors of their respective generations; at the age of 82, Redgrave continues to enthral her audience and in this role she is as obnoxious as she is mesmerizing. Her dialogue contains some very amusing, albeit totally insensitive, language and she delivers it superbly. Spall is her match as the resigned and tolerant man who is driven to paint - it’s in his very marrow - but who can’t convince ‘Moother’ of his worth. Spall learnt to paint for his portrayal of another great English painter in Mike Leigh’s Mr. Turner and his knowledge is used to good effect here. The use of Lowry’s fine works as backdrops in some scenes makes for a thoroughly satisfying experience and succeeds in placing the viewer into the stunning, though bleak, land and cityscapes.
In Mrs Lowry & Son, the camera moves from the kitchen and living area downstairs, to the bedroom upstairs where Elizabeth resides, taking her meals and conducting her tirades against her son, and up into the attic where he painted at night. It only rarely ventures outside and this claustrophobic atmosphere is realistically captured by the Catalonian cinematographer Josep M. Civit. His framing seems to hug the figures of the overbearing mother and the long-suffering son, whose lives are drowning in negativity, she constantly reproaching him and he living for the moment when he does something that might please her. At no time does Lowry defend himself, remaining stoic in the face of her criticism and caring beyond the call of duty.
This is a film worthy of BAFTA nominations and one suspects it will feature predominantly in next year’s awards. It’s a slyly funny creation, a wonderful opportunity to see two of England’s greatest thespians go head to head. If you appreciate impeccable acting and excellent writing, you won’t want to miss Mrs Lowry & Son.