Thursday 26 March 2015

Thursday Movie Picks - Mother-Daughter relationships


Another Thursday Movie Picks for you, this week mother-daughter relationships is the central theme - http://wanderingthroughtheshelves.blogspot.co.uk/.




There have been many films with evil little girls (Case 39 and Orphan are two recent examples that spring to mind), but the original evil, manipulative little girl was Rhoda from the 1956 film The Bad Seed. Christine (Nancy Kelly) becomes convinced that daughter is sociopathic murderer and once her daughter reveals the truth she has a difficult decision to make. The film's stage origins show, the film is blandly shot and the acting is slightly hammy (even for the 50s), but it still has a bit of chill factor to it. The film is also debates the science surrounding nature vs nurture and demands serious questions of the mother and what she must do regarding her murderous child. The film also has one the most peculiar post credits sequences ever...


Brave is a step away from the usual male dominated Pixar films as the film focuses on the relationship between mother and daughter. The daughter wishes to live a life that is far more customary for males to live, her mother is more of a traditionalist, this of course leads to some friction. The film Brave is a strongly feminist one (some still objected to the physical image the main character – thin and perfect but in this context it is irrelevant) with a highish level of female input (which we need more of), perhaps may explain why the mother-daughter relationship is the film's most interesting aspect.



Winner of the Best Picture for the year 1983 (or at least I think it was....yep it it was) James L. Brooks' (who I embarrassingly got confused Mel Brooks for some stupid reason) debut features a mother-daughter relationship that is integral to the story. Aurora Greenway (Shirley MacLaine) may be a difficult person but her relationship with her daughter, Emma (Debra Winger), is a strong one that manages to survive many storms and bitter fights. The film gets a big baggy in the middle, but it is an emotionally rewarding one.

31 comments:

  1. Only seen Brave, but it was great! I was gonna picked it before I decided to take the toxic route.

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  2. Great choices here! I never would've thought of The Bad Seed. I really need to see that film again, it's been too long.

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    1. I got lucky with that one, I happened to stumble upon it whilst mindlessly reading the internet.

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  3. Really like Brave, such an underrated movie. The Bad Seed sounds like something I nred to see. Just never bothered with ToE. Maybe one day. Great picks.

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    1. yeah, it's never mentioned in the cannon of Pixar's best works but mother and daughter relationship makes it worthy to be mentioned at least.

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  4. LOVE The Bad Seed. Love Brave, too. The Queen-as-bear is just... it's perfect. SO FUNNY. And the story has real heart, too.

    I have yet to see Terms of Endearment. Which is just unforgivable.

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  5. I found BRAVE and TERMS to be decent but overrated.

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    1. There is a bit in the middle of TOE that sags a little that damages its such of greatness in my book.

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  6. Great picks. I definitely considered Brave because for once, it's actually nice to see this relationship developping over time. Terms of Endearment is just straight up a classic.

    http://assholeswatchingmovies.com/

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    1. Absolutely, what I like is it is a step away from the usual pixar/princess relationships and focuses on one that is rarely discussed

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  7. OMG! The Bad Seed!!!! What an awesomely inspired choice!!!!!!

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  8. The Bad Seed! Can't believe I never even thought of that but a great pick.What a freaky movie with all the cast except Henry Jones playing to the balcony Did you know that before they decided to use the original stage cast Bette Davis and Rosalind Russell were both considered for the mother?

    Terms is an emotional workout with great acting. Haven't seen Brave.

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    1. I did read that the orginal cast from the play were players within the film's adaptation, I feel that contributed to the film's stagey feel.

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  9. Brave and Terms of Endearment are great choices! I haven't seen The Bad Seed.

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    1. Worth a watch for many reasons, the debate on Nature vs Nurture is quite interesting

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  10. Ooohh...haven't even heard of The Bad Seed before today.

    Wandering through the Shelves

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    1. Not too famous of the film, there are many better 50 films.

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  11. Great choices this week, I've seen two out of there of them. The Bad Seed is such an underrated film if you ask me, I really need to get around to watching that one again soon. Brave was excellent but undeserving of it's Oscar win in my opinion. I still haven't seen Terms of Endearment, I've heard good things though so looking forward to seeing it.

    Mike's Cinema

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    1. Um...probably not but I very much chose it on the strength of the mother-daughter relationship.

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  12. I must be remembering Brave wrong. I forgot all about the mother character. Shows how much I was paying attention. Great post.

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  13. I must be remembering Brave wrong. I forgot all about the mother character. Shows how much I was paying attention. Great post.

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    1. Haha. I can also be very, very forgetful. Sometimes I even forget I watched an entire film. For example, I have not idea if I've seen Kiss the Girls or not.

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  14. Brave was just not for me. Totally forgettable. Terms of Endearment made mine easily. Love it! The Bad Seed is a title new to me.

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    1. I'll admit Brave isn't the greatest of the Pixar films, but the mother-daughter relationship made it stand out for different reasons.

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  15. I've only seen Brave from your choices, the development of their relationship was one of the strong points of the movie.

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  16. Glad to see we have BRAVE in common here! I wish I had included a classic film but somehow I couldn't think of any.

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  17. The Bad Seed is a nice choice. :)

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