Movie Review: Motherly

credit: Motherly

On a calm Sunday morning, it’s a pleasure to look at the streaming channels to see what’s there and what movies have come out that might not be that well-known. Motherly is one of those that are kind of predictable but still offers up enough of a thrill that makes it worth watching. Having a good idea of how things will turn out and what might happen near the end might be a big turnoff for many viewers. Still, there are those times when predictability can be comfortable since it gives the audience a chance to simply turn off their brains, at least most of the way, and just see what will happen. As far as being a thriller, Motherly does deliver in a small way since the premise is kind of fun in a way, as it makes a person wonder what they might do if presented with the same type of situation that Kate and her daughter Beth are thrust into. It’s kind of a slow-moving movie to start with, but it’s not horrible. 

credit: Motherly

The loss of a child and a parent is a harrowing story. 

This is a sensitive subject, to be fair, since losing a child is a tricky thing to talk about, even in fiction, while losing a parent to suicide is also a very tough issue to deal with. But one thing that’s evidence is that Beth is kind of a problematic individual that isn’t inclined to be nice to anyone, including her mother. Her bond with her father appears to be stronger than that she has with her mother since she appears to hold her mother in contempt even when their home is invaded by two individuals revealed to be the parents of a young girl killed in their home a while back. The thing about this is that Kate’s husband, Brad, was accused of the girl’s death, but the parents aren’t convinced that Brad was the killer and decide to break into Kate and Beth’s home and torture Kate to get the truth. 

There is a twist to this story that is expected even if it’s supposed to be a surprise. 

Breaking into the home is bad enough, but torturing a woman because she’s thought to be the killer is a seriously controversial act that some parents might decide is justified if they believe that the wrong person went to jail for an act they didn’t commit. When it’s revealed that Brad committed suicide in prison, things only get worse since there’s no longer any way to exonerate him even if the evidence is falsified. The flashbacks of Beth and her friend playing when they were younger are used throughout the movie, but they don’t give the whole story, which is for the best. But when it’s discovered that one of the attackers was having an affair with Brad, it shifts the narrative of the story just a bit. It gives the audience the idea that maybe Brad wasn’t quite as innocent as his daughter thinks, even if he didn’t murder her friend. 

credit: Motherly

The fact is that there are no heroes in this story.

Even the WitSec agent, Hal, is kind of suspect since it would appear that he and Kate have a relationship that’s not perfect but might be a bit suspect. The fact that the two parents of the dead girl break into Kate’s home make them less than trustworthy. Kate, who people might think is being done wrong, ends up being the person who framed her husband for the killing, which was perpetrated by their daughter, Beth. It turns out that Beth is a psychopath who killed her friend, has little to no respect for anyone other than her father, and apparently thinks the world of him. If there’s any frustration with this movie, Beth is the type of character that doesn’t care about anything or anyone unless she wants to and is willing to do anything for the same reason. Simply put, she’s an entitled and sheltered psychopath with no personal responsibility for her actions or words. 

This movie is entertaining enough to watch but very predictable. 

There was always a hint that something was wrong in this movie, a lingering doubt hanging over the entire premise just waiting to be revealed. It was a little too easy to feel sorry for Kate and then doubt her in the next second, while dismissing Beth as a brat was way too easy. This was an element of the story that was appreciated since it did manage to make Beth the least likely to be at fault. 

It was worth watching.