Monika’s Pensieve

{FILM DIARY}

The Bad Mother’s Handbook (UK, 2007)

Seen: Wednesday, 28th January 2009 (DVD)
Runtime: 70′
Director: Robin Shepperd
Cast: Catherine Tate, Anne Reid, Holly Grainger, Steve John Shepherd, Robert Pattinson
Production House: Ingenious Broadcasting
Plot: A very short-tempered woman tries to get to terms with her life, while her mother’s dementia progresses and her daughter goes through various teenage issues.

Scene From The Film
Here’s a scene, which rather defines the film I think :) Or if you’d like to see a scene with Pattinson then check out this one *grin*

Impressions In Short
It’s a very well-made British TV drama with some very nice acting and a story that completely concentrates on women, with motherhood as a central theme.

More About the Film
I just looked back at what’s in my film diary section and it seems like for over a month now I’ve been watching mostly female-orientated films. The Bad Mother’s Handbook is a continuation of this trend, in fact it might be the most female-orientated film of the lot. Like Twilight, it’s one of those rare ones where the director, writers (both of the novel and the screenplay) and editor are all female (although I’m actually not sure how rare this is in TV dramas cause I don’t watch that many of them). Unlike Twilight, there are only two or three male characters that get enough screen time to get noticed in any way. Almost all of the characters that have a significant impact on the plot are female.
The characters are very colourful, but rather real at the same time. And while I haven’t experienced motherhood myself, I think what the film says about it is so true lol
I’ve started wondering whether Robert Pattinson is drawn to feminine films like these or whether he somehow attracts them ;) I mean his filmography is rather short - I’ve basically gotten through it on this blog (in terms of parts with a decent amount of screen time there’s still The Ring of the Nibelungs, but I think I’m going to pass on that one). So The Bad Mother’s Handbook, Twilight and the small part he did in Vanity Fair (his part didn’t make the final cut) seems like quite a lot to me. All of these had female directors - you’ll find a lot of actors with very long careers who have never worked with a female director, so three in such a short time span seems like rather a lot :)
His part in The Bad Mother’s Handbook is pretty hilarious. I guess he plays the kind of guy I would be pretty happy to be in a relationship with ;) Most guys (particularly ones in their teens) would run away screaming if they had to talk through so many feminine issues with a girl and those scenes are really hilarious.
The acting generally is great - there’s some great performances by the ladies in this film as well :)

Recommended?
Er… I think yes, though I have mixed feelings about recommending this film to anybody male lol This really is so feminine that I wonder how many blokes would get it. I guess there must be some out there who would though… I just don’t have first-hand experience of them ;-P