Four Mothers

“It’s a love story, but it’s also not a love story”, says Edward (James McArdle), when asked by interviewers about his soon-to-be-published novel. The same is true of Darren Thornton’s follow-up to A Date For Mad Mary (2016), a comedy of great sweetness and charm focusing on the bond between a boy and his mother. Edward, gay and single, is attempting to juggle requests for interviews and plans for book tours with his responsibilities of caring for his widowed mother Alma (Fionnula Flanagan), who is recovering from a stroke. As he agonises over these decisions, complications arise when his friends leave their mothers (Paddy Glynn, Stella McCusker, Dearbhla Molloy) on his doorstep as they jet off to foreign climes for a Pride parade. The intrusion of these eccentric women helps Edward and Alma to realise the strength of their own relationship.