The Good Mother (1988)

User Rating:

5.7/10   

Director:

Leonard Nimoy

Writers (WGA):

Sue Miller (novel)
Michael Bortman (screenplay)

Release Date:

4 November 1988 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Can a court determine how we should live, how we should love, how we should raise our children? Now Anna must prove that she is the Good Mother.

Plot:

Plot Keywords:

Melancholy | Divorce | Single Mother | Barbecue | Pregnancy

Cast

Diane Keaton	...	Anna Dunlap
Liam Neeson	...	Leo Cutter
Jason Robards	...	Muth
Ralph Bellamy	...	Grandfather
Teresa Wright	...	Grandmother
James Naughton	...	Brian
Asia Vieira	...	Molly
Joe Morton	...	Frank Williams
Katey Sagal	...	Ursula
Margaret Bard	...	Aunt Rain
Nancy Beatty	...	Anna's Mother
Barry Belchamber	...	Anna's Father
Mairon Bennett	...	Young Anna
Zachary Bennett	...	Young Bobby
Scott Brunt	...	Eric

Also Known As:

The Price of Passion (South Africa: English title) (video title)

Runtime:

Brazil:104 min | USA:103 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:12 | South Korea:18 | Australia:M | UK:15 | USA:R | West Germany:16 (f) | Canada:14A

Filming Locations:

Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Company:

Silver Screen Partners IV

Trivia:

During the filming of an emotional court room scene with Diane Keaton concerning the custody of her daughter, it was found out that one of the cameras shooting did not have the proper film so did not film the scene. Director Leonard Nimoy felt bad about having to have Diane Keaton film it again because she had done it so well. He showed up at her dressing room door with two dozen roses in his arms. He gave the roses to her first, then gave her the bad news about having to re-shoot the scene. Diane Keaton took it well, and had no problem with having to re-shoot the scene.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Biography: Leonard Nimoy: Spock and Beyond" (1996)

Soundtrack:

Inisheer

Excellent, compelling, infuriating, underrated.

I'm cautious about films with a message: they are too easily heavy-handed and preachy, or on the other extreme capable of producing a mass "understanding" that is actually untrue ("The Klansman/Birth of a Nation" comes to mind). Films dealing with sexual attitudes can very glibly preach either "damnation for transgression" or "freedom from repression" with equal superficiality. This film is remarkable for painting all its characters with dimension: no one is evil, but everyone can be weak, afraid, and make poor decisions with good yet fearful intentions. The acting is terrific, so you feel satisfied at having seen a movie of quality at the same time you feel frustrated, infuriated, and finally exhausted by the outcome of the plot. Another example of Leonard Nimoy's excellent qualities as a director, forever lost - I'm afraid - in the strange perception that his work in Star Trek makes all of his career somehow lightweight.