Four Mothers

“Edward” (James McArdle) is a gay thirty-something whose new novel has his publishers desperate for him to go on a book tour of the USA. Thing is, he has his elderly mum to look after. “Anna” (Fionnula Flanagan) has been suffering from the after effects of a stroke that have left her mobility impaired and without the power of speech. Just to further complicate his scenario, she is being nu…

Wants to be heartfelt, but it doesn’t know how. The actors clearly want to do more—especially Fionnula Flanagan, who does more without any dialogue than most do with lines—but the script keeps undercutting them. Every moment of sincerity gets followed by a quip from a sitcom. It can’t decide if it’s a comedy or a tragedy, and ends up being neither. The tonal whiplash extends to the visua…