Review of Mama (2013) by Aaliyah S — 04 Nov 2013

Mama Spanish/Canadian film - executive-producer Guilermo del Toro; based on the short-film also directed, and co-written by Andrés Muschietti. Starring Jessica Chastain and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau.

Mentally disturbed by the events of 2008 economic crisis, Jeffrey murders his partner and his wife - he takes his two little daughters Victoria and Lilly, and runs away - when his car slips off the icy-roads into woods. All three survive, Jeffrey takes girls inside an abandoned cabin and prepares to kill both girls before shooting himself - just about when a dark shadow drags him away and snaps his neck. Lonely at night, the girls are passed on cherry by shadowy figure. Five years have gone by, Lucas (Jeffrey's duplicate brother) is still on the look for his nieces, he has sent out rescue party - who find both girls in feral-state (children suffering from lack of child-development). Lucas fights for the custody of girls from their great-aunt. He is provided clinic-sponsored house on condition that he let the professor research on girls' condition. Lucas begs his girlfriend Annabel (Jessica) to play motherly role to earn custody of children. It seems the mysterious shadowy figure has followed the girls to their new home and live in the closet of their room; it puts girls to sleep by singing 'lullaby'. It is revealed that shadowy figure has been mother-figure to both girls in cabin - they would call her 'Mama'. Victoria the elder girl grows friendlier to Annabel and parts from Mama to be with Annabel, making Mama jealous of this new relationship.

If you haven't seen Mama, probably you are going to miss lots on the course of this journey that leads us on the path to experience different bumping and jerking - there is subtle richness of horror in Mama. It borrows the elements in the story that signify the melancholy of story between desperate wandering spirit of motherhood.

The story is significant from two perspective that we see in it - truly believable love of mother for her children (no one is going to doubt about this kind of affinity, in the world), and similarly, desperation as could be verily seen destitute children, without love. Hence, to say that, plot works flawlessly in gripping the audience to believe what is going to be availed ahead in the film.

Guilermo del Toro has once again proven that, he stick his names around movies that do justice to his name, since 'Mama' carries what Guilermo has popularized to be his signatory.