LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: A mother can go to extreme lengths to save her children and Jennifer Lopez has already done that in one of her past projects. 2002 saw Lopez playing a terrified mother in a movie called ‘Enough’ which saw her fighting for her life even when the odds were stacked against her. She does everything and anything to save herself and her child from an abusive husband. Soon, she realizes that running away was not going to solve anything and took a different approach. Her latest movie, ‘The Mother’, is pretty similar to the aforementioned film. Yes, and a lot of things are different, but the theme remains the same how a mother is able to ensure her child’s safety even when she is not close to them.
‘The Mother’ tells the story of a former assassin and nameless FBI agent (Lopez) trying to give the authorities all the information about a group of dangerous assailants. The movie starts with a brutal opening scene where almost all the FBI agents present in the room get killed by the bad guys. Without any guesses, Lopez’s character, who is pregnant, manages to survive but endures a gruesome injury on her belly. She manages to keep the bad guys away from her, and when opens her eyes in the hospital, she finds out that her daughter has been kept away from her. One of the FBI agents makes her realize that her child is not safe with her because Adrian Lovell (Joseph Fiennes) and her men will come for her and if they find out that the child survived, they will kill her as well. As a result, she gives up her daughter and starts living in Alaska. But she manages to know all about her daughter through one of the FBI agents, William Cruise (Omari Hardwick). However, her life turns upside down when she is brought back to the mainland for a mission that includes her daughter as well.
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We never had any doubts that Lopez will bring her A-game as a mother who is willing to put everything online to protect her child. Her character has seen a lot of bad things in her life and is almost emotionless. She left her child because she knew that her life will be in danger if she stays with her. So when she finally meets her young daughter for the first time, she doesn’t show any emotions because she knows that as soon as the mission is over, she would have to step back and leave again. It’s a terrifying situation for any parent and you can sense how scared Lopez’s character gets when she realizes that things will never be the same.
Lopez gives one of her finest performances
A few months before, we saw Lopez giving a splendid performance in Prime Video’s rom-com ‘Shotgun Wedding’ and with ‘The Mother’ she reminds us that she can knock it out of the park in any given genre, be it a crime thriller or a dark, gritty family drama. The best part of the movie is that Lopez’s character is not a perfect mom. She is flawed and leads a complicated life. But that’s what makes the movie so interesting because it doesn’t follow the same formula.
Lopez is outstanding as The Mother and gives a performance that shows her range. As we said before, she can carry any movie on her strong shoulders and she does that with flying colors in the Netflix film. It is undoubtedly one of her most engaging performances. On the other hand, Joseph Fiennes plays a terrifying villain that keeps on making the Mother’s life miserable. Lucy Paez as Zoe (Lopez’s daughter in the movie) has also done a phenomenal job of showing the emotions of a girl who just found out that her real mother is actually an assassin.
Another good thing about the movie is its action sequences. They are slick, and well-choreographed, and keep the fans hooked to their screens.
One particular criticism about the movie is that the writing could have been better. When you are watching a Niki Caro movie, you expect a flawless ride, however, ‘The Mother’ somewhat fails to reach that level.
Is 'The Mother' worth watching?
All in all, ‘The Mother’ is an engaging crime-thriller that keeps viewers on the edge of their seats and examines the mother-daughter relationship as well. Yes, it has some shortcomings, but they get overshadowed by great action scenes and a power-packed performance by Jennifer Lopez. Worth a watch!
*** stars for ‘The Mother’.
'The Mother' premieres exclusively on Netflix on May 12.