Mothering Sunday

Based on Graham Swift’s novella, Mothering Sunday details the illicit relationship between a maid (Odessa Young’s Jane) and a wealthy former soldier (Josh O’Connor’s Paul) as they meet for a tryst one fateful afternoon. Filmmaker Eva Husson, working from Alice Birch’s screenplay, delivers a deliberately-paced yet increasingly absorbing drama that effectively (and beautifully) shuttles between various time periods, and there’s little doubt, certainly, that Husson, along with cinematographer Jamie D. Ramsay, does a superb job of infusing Mothering Sunday with a compelling and downright gorgeous visual sensibility. The picture’s progressively enthralling atmosphere is heightened considerably by the stirring efforts of its various performers, with Young’s absolutely stunning work here undoubtedly matched by a roster of such superb periphery players as Colin Firth, Glenda Jackson, and Olivia Coleman. (The latter makes an indelible impact in a brief yet heartbreaking turn as a grieving mother, to be sure.) By the time the completely satisfying closing stretch rolls around, Mothering Sunday has cemented its place as a top-tier literary adaptation that packs an unexpectedly spellbinding (and emotionally resonant) punch.

**** out of ****

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