Motherland review: Parenting comedy returns with sad and angry hidden depths
The IndependentGet our free weekly email for all the latest cinematic news from our film critic Clarisse Loughrey Get our The Life Cinematic email for free Get our The Life Cinematic email for free SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. The stars are Diane Morgan, Lucy Punch and Anna Maxwell Martin as Liz, Amanda and Julia, schoolgate frenemies, with Paul Ready as Kevin, the weedy token male. There is something comforting about Morgan’s Boltonian drawl, deployed to such hilarious effect as Philomena Cunk, and you could watch Maxwell Martin do her tax return. But the real engine of the comedy is the relationship between Liz and Julia, who share a weary world view, and the appalling Amanda, with whom they are forced to be in near-constant contact.There is a more interesting, angrier, sadder programme half-visible beneath the surface of Motherland, about the sacrifices women are forced to make, hour by hour, in a world where they might not be able to have it all but are expected to anyway.
History of this topic
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