'night, Mother (1986)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

Tom Moore

Writers:

Marsha Norman (play)
Marsha Norman (screenplay)

Release Date:

12 September 1986 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

It happened in 1983. It was a rare and remarkable theatrical experience. Controversial. Provocative. And shocking. Now, two Academy Award-winning actresses make the Pulitzer Prize-winning play the motion picture event of the year.

Plot:

What would you do if someone you loved sat down with you one night and calmly told you that they were going to end their life before morning...

Plot Keywords:

Epilepsy | Suicide | Pulitzer Prize Source | Mother Daughter Relationship | Conversation

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 1 nomination

Cast

Sissy Spacek	...	Jessie Cates
Anne Bancroft	...	Thelma Cates
Ed Berke	...	Dawson Cates
Carol Robbins	...	Loretta Cates
Jennifer Roosendahl	...	Melodie Cates
Michael Kenworthy	...	Kenny Cates
Sari Walker	...	Agnes Fletcher
Claire Malis	...	Operator (voice)

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:L | Australia:M | Sweden:11 | USA:PG-13 | West Germany:18 (f) | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Universal Studios - 100 Universal City Plaza, Universal City, California, USA

Company:

Aaron Spelling Productions

Trivia:

Sissy Spacek caught the play on Broadway and told her agent she'd like to star in it.

Quotes:

Thelma: We're just gonna sit around like every other night in the world, and then you're gonna kill yourself? You'll miss! You'll wind up a vegetable! How'd you like that? You know what the doctor said about getting excited. You'll cock the pistol and have a fit!
Jessie: I think I can kill myself, Mama. Thanks.
Thelma: It's a sin! You'll go to Hell!
Jessie: Jesus was a suicide if you ask me.
Thelma: You'll go to Hell just for saying that, Jessie!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Better Than Ever (1997)

"Night Mother is an emotional roller coaster, if there ever was one.

It's gut wrenching, incredibly sad, funny in a few parts and completely shocking. I first saw this movie in my early 20's and it had a profound effect on me. I do not watch it much because it is very, very deep and extremely, depressing.

Jessie Cates, played by Sissy Spacek, is a middle-aged, epileptic living with her mother. She has had a traumatic, divorce in her past and a wayward son headed for prison. Due to her illness, she can't drive or hold down a job and has no hopes that anything will get better for her. Jessie, has after years of contemplating suicide, finally picked the night to do it. She has organized her personal belongings and put everything in order. Now, all she has to do is tell her mother.

Anne Bancroft, plays Jessie's mother, the blissfully ignorant, Thelma Cates. Who by her own description, is "a plain, old, country woman" who "just really doesn't think there's all that much to things". She is caught totally off guard when her daughter tells her, she is planning to kill herself that night. Momma Cates is so blatantly unaware that her daughter is unhappy that she even tells her where the gun is before asking why.

The subject matter and the way it's presented is so thought provoking that one doesn't even take notice of the fact that almost this entire movie consists of basically only two actresses.

I highly recommend this movie, just don't expect a happy ending.