My Mother's Wedding

Released without much fanfare, I can't remember seeing a single trailer for this film (which is saying something in this day and age), the directorial debut of Kristin Scott Thomas (who also co-wrote the script) stars Scarlett Johansson, Sienna Miller, and Emily Beecham as the grown daughters who return home for their mother's (Kristin Scott Thomas) wedding. While all three of the daughters have their own relationship issues, Johansson gets the biggest role here that ties into both her career in the Royal Navy and memories of the pair of lost fathers the girls suffered (both who died in the line of duty when they were children) which is shown through some simple, but effective, animation. 

My Mother's Wedding is a serviceable family drama despite not all the parts quite balancing together (such as the youngest daughter's marriage about to hit the rocks which is meant to liven up events but falls a bit short being far less amusing or shocking than intended).

Still, I quite enjoyed Freida Pinto in the small role as Johansson's longtime girlfriend pressuring for marriage and James Fleet as the quite likable groom who are the highlights of the supporting cast. We also get the big scene between mother and daughters at the fathers' graves which you can feel the film building to in order to reveal the moral of the story.

Neither quirky nor raw enough to invoke a reaction from the audience, ultimately My Mother's Wedding falls into the realm of mostly forgettable film, although, thanks largely to the likeability of its cast and the scenes of the sisters playing off each other, is not a bad one.

Watch the trailer

• Title: My Mother's Wedding
• IMDb: link