Why we chose it – This film owes a lot to Mid-August Lunch, an Italian film, which we showed in 2010 and much enjoyed. We were intrigued to see how that film has been reinterpreted.

Synopsis – Edward is a painfully shy and struggling gay writer who is being pressured to go in a US book tour. He is the carer for his mother who has suffered a stroke and is dependent on an ipad to communicate. He is inveigled by three of his gay friends, desperate to be young and carefree, into taking care of their mothers – similarly elderly – so that they can go on a impromptu gay pride weekend holiday.  A chaotic weekend follows as he struggles to take care of the four eccentric mothers while juggling his own career and yearnings.

The film – The action is transferred from Rome to Dublin with the gay theme perhaps replacing the importance of food in the original. The comedy is preserved, but it is more than that: an exploration of a relationship between mother and son and the importance of finding your voice. Veteran actress Fionnuala Flanagan is superb as Edward’s mother even though she has no lines; her ipad has Stephen Hawking’s voice enunciating her crisp commands. The website has an interview with the director at last year’s London Film Festival in which he talks about the inspiration from the original film and from his personal experience.  

Director Darren Thornton Writers – Colin Thornton, Darren Thornton, Cinematography – Tom Comerford, Burschi Wojnar Ireland 2024

Links Imdb Guardian review Irish Times review Variety review