You Are Not My Mother, 2022.
Written and Directed by Kate Dolan.
Starring Paul Reid, Hazel Doupe, Ingrid Craigie, Jordanne Jones, Carolyn Bracken, Colin Peppard, Martin O’Sullivan, Katie White, Jade Jordan, and Florence Adebamo.
SYNOPSIS:
In a North Dublin housing estate Char’s mother goes missing. When she returns Char is determined to uncover the truth of her disappearance and unearth the dark secrets of her family.
The opening flashback sequence of writer and director Kate Dolan’s Irish folklore chiller You Are Not My Mother glimpses an unsettling fire ritual that immediately sets a discomforting stage on the family’s motives in the present day. Now a teenager, Charlotte (Hazel Doupe), bears a burn mark across her face from that fateful day as a baby, under the impression that it is an unfortunate birthmark. Unsurprisingly, such slight facial disfigurement coupled with a quiet demeanor and social awkwardness makes her a target of high school bullying from her peers despite her demonstrated intelligence and high grades.
If that wasn’t enough ammunition to pick on the poor girl every day (the bullying here is also believably ruthless, although towards the end they come across as a bit far-fetched dedicated to making her life a living nightmare), her mom Angela (Carolyn Bracken) has a reputation for mental health concerns. While driving Charlotte to school, Angela has a breakdown that sees her swerving the car and parking in the middle of nowhere, and parking in the middle of nowhere, with her daughter walking the rest of the way. It’s also a mystery where Angela goes and what she does in the meantime, but it is established that running off is something she occasionally does.
Charlotte is also looked after by her grandmother and uncle, who seem capable of sometimes keeping Angela under control through heavy medication dosages. However, the alarming part comes from the awareness that this entire family seems in on whatever dangerous rituals were conducted on Charlotte at birth. As such, the script can convince viewers of multiple beliefs; Angela might be out of her mind, especially as she starts to become increasingly violent and feral (behavior that is outstandingly performed), but that underneath her scary unpredictability is a protective force that will go to some extreme lengths to express love and intercept some of her daughter’s bullying, giving the antagonizers a taste of their abuse. Meanwhile, grandma Rita (Ingrid Craigie) is the most affectionately caring but harbors sinister secrets.
You Are Not My Mother effectively maintains this level of intrigue and dread even when dipping into some cliché jump scare elements. Simply put, there are still frightening if what’s seen is genuinely disturbing, and on more than once I found myself briefly rewinding the screening link to analyze further whatever messed up sight the makeup team had put forth. It’s also a stylistic film visually, using reflections to take in the body language of multiple characters during dialogue exchanges. It’s also known that Halloween is an essential tradition to this family, especially as the story terrifyingly involves Irish folklore that brings about many answers to what is happening.
Beyond the service-level success of horror thrills, the story also functions as a potent complicated look at mother-daughter bonds affected by mental illness. There’s always a sense that the bullies are the real monster out there regardless of how unhinged Angela becomes. Charlotte is also able to befriend one of them, which throws some of the family order out of whack. There’s nothing necessarily new or remarkable about You Are Not My Mother, but it is a hauntingly atmospheric directorial calling card with compelling performances.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★
Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association and the Critics Choice Association. He is also the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check here for new reviews, follow my Twitter or Letterboxd, or email me at MetalGearSolid719@gmail.com
