Review of 'night, Mother (1986) by Walter M — 24 Jun 2011
In "'night Mother," Jessie Cates(Sissy Spacek) spends her day cleaning the house she shares with her mother(Anne Bancroft). She also labels all of her clothing for various charitable organizations. Once her mother comes home, she asks her where her father's gun is before calmly telling her of her intention to kill herself that night.
Sad to say, the rumored intensity of the play "'night Mother" is not on display in this filmed version that does not translate particularly well to the screen as it feels like just another made for television movie of the period. Strange as it may sound, a lot of it comes down to the casting. Both Sissy Spacek and Anne Bancroft are great actresses but their styles are so different that it transcends generations. Spacek is superb giving a very natural, matter of fact performance while Bancroft has to force herself to operate in her territory. Maybe Joanne Woodward would have been a better choice to play the mother in retrospect.
This review of 'night, Mother (1986) was written by Walter M on 24 Jun 2011.
'night, Mother has generally received very positive reviews.
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