Rent Mrs. Lowry and Son (2019)

Interesting Part Biopic - Mrs. Lowry and Son review by GI

With two superb central performances from Vanessa Redgrave and Timothy Spall this is a low key theatrical chamber piece that follows the complex relationship between the artist L.S. Lowry and his bedridden, cantankerous and neurotic mother. A rather sombre film which lends itself better to a TV viewing it is set in Manchester in 1934 before Lowry has been 'discovered' and paints only to please his mother who is constantly critical and at times downright nasty about his talent. The film is not without its humour and it is of interest in charting the troubled life of Lowry but its the performances that make it worth checking out.

First Rate - Mrs. Lowry and Son review by JR

Timothy Spall and Vanessa Redgrave give an acting masterclass - every expression, every gesture is an expression of Lowry's love for his mother but also his pain and pent up frustration at her dismissal of his paintings. Redgrave as the bed bound Mrs Lowry balances her social climbing and sometimes cruel domination of her sensitive son with a portrayal of an intelligent and cultured woman whose every aspiration in life has been denied her by her social class and a bad marriage. Most of the film takes place in Mrs Lowry's bedroom in their grim Victorian terrace. but there is humour and beauty in the film's depiction of the landscapes and scenes of ordinary folk that we know from Lowry's paintings. Noble's direction and the musical score are both spot on and it all adds up to a first rate film.

A bit slow but well acted - Mrs. Lowry and Son review by AL

Very well acted, but extremely slow. Would have been nice to have seen a little more of his art work, what gave him the inspiration and what happened when his career took off.

So glad to have seen this - Mrs. Lowry and Son review by CW

A couple of years ago I had the pleasure of visiting the Lowry Museum when I was in Manchester. Thrilling to see works spanning his career. Like the reviewer JD, I wish film would have continued to explore his life and painting after his difficult mother died. I would like to have scenes when his bedroom was opened revealing his passion for and purchase of Pre Raphaelite paintings, especially Rossetti. Still, what we saw was really interesting, poignant and well done. Timothy Spall and Vanessa Redgrave nailed their roles. He suppressed so much of his life to care for and amuse her. This is a thoughtful loving movie. The extras in the Lowry Museum were also v good, where Spall studies a few selected paintings with the curator. This is an important movie of course for those who are familiar with Lowry’s work, but also for those who have not seen the paintings. It inspires one to visit the excellent museum too. 

Painfully beautiful - Mrs. Lowry and Son review by BK

Heartbreaking yet heartwarming affirmation of intensity of humans feelings.Story of claustrofobic relationships between mother and sun.Story of devotion to art and to mother.Being true with himself whatever he did.Man of extraordinary perception of seeing beauty in ugliness Showed us that ugliness is also part of life,through it we appreciate beauty even more.

Sad, lonely and put upon......nevertheless I completed this opinion on the film. - Mrs. Lowry and Son review by Strovey

Like so many films that are basically two-handers Mrs Lowry and Son whilst it relies on the skills of many to bring it to the screen it lives or dies on the two actors that carry the bulk of the film. In this case with experienced actors Vanessa Redgrave and Timothy Spall director Adrian Noble and writer Martyn Hesford were in safe hands.

By the very nature of the story Redgrave has the ‘showy’ part leaving Spall the more challenging task of playing what is in essence an inert character, Lowry, who, in this story at least, only really reacts to his mother. Redgrave tries hard to give some light and dark to what essentially is a very unpleasant person and whilst, with the help of small flashbacks she succeeds in a small way, I really was left with the impression that in a two-character film she was very much the ‘baddie.’

Apparently in real life, from my reading, Lowry’s mother was worse than this depiction. Which definitely makes you shudder.

Here we discover her husband was in debt and had to move from a well-to-do middle-class area of Manchester to a more rough-and-tumble working-class area and you can sort of understand her upset and feeling of disappointment and let-down, but to then take it out on her son and shackle him down to what is essentially a life of servitude there is little light you can get out of this. Her only more positive moments are remembering the past, which is what makes her so bitter in the first place.

Spall's interpretation of Lowry is somewhat of a dull doormat, with a kindly nature, who could see the beauty in the ordinary working-class vistas and people around him. Again, by reading about the man he was more than this, although, being fair, the focus of the story is on the fractious relationship with his mother. Perhaps expanding the story to show Lowry’s more humanist side outside of the family home would have made for a less claustrophobic one-dimensional story? The theatrical roots are there to see but perhaps clipping them back would not have been an entirely bad thing? Two-handers that start off as plays find it very hard to shake off those beginnings when they transition to the big screen.

It is to the director and actors' credit that Mrs. Lowry and Son is eminently watchable. In lesser hands this could have been a drudge. Redgrave several times showed mannerisms and facial expressions that reminded me of my mother, who in her own way was a frustrated snob, but I hasten to add was not anything like Lowry’s mother, being both loving and supportive her entire life. Spall’s display of the steadfast loyalty and world-weariness of Lowry to his mother is subtly played throughout the film and is a credit to his acting skills.

The only problem I had was the age of Spall, which is nit-picking I know, but Lowry was in his forties at this time and Spall looked his 61-years of age making him somewhere around 15-years older than his subject and only 20-years younger than Redgrave, I keep thinking throughout the running time that if Lowry lived until the mid-70s and he was this age before the war (as Spall looked) he’d have been over 100-years old when he died, which he was not. It jarred with me,

Mrs. Lowry and Son is a fine film that cannot hide its stage roots and gives an interesting. if fictional look. at the relationship between this gifted artist and his damaged and highly damaging mother. It is not a treatise on the life and influences of the artist like Mr. Turner, Spall’s other artist biopic was. Therefore if you are looking for a similar film then I would suggest you will be disappointed but as a stand-alone film about a well-loved artists' strained relationship with his mother, this is a good film.

Nice - Mrs. Lowry and Son review by HM

Charming drama revolving around Lowry's relationship with his crochety old disabled mother. His career hasn't lifted off yet and she hardly encourages him so the film is really about his determination to pursue art as a career come what may. The obstacles are close and personal. The atmosphere claustrophobic. We know the outcome of his career but the tale behind is engaging and worth a watch. Liked it. Amazingly Maggie Smith didn't get the old lady role!