Set in Lancashire England in the 1930s, Mrs Lowry & Son is a biographical film that tells the story of artist L.S Lowry who lives with and takes care of his bed-ridden mother Elizabeth Lowry. Elizabeth is bitter about her current position in life and despite being take care of by her son; she refuses to support his artistic endeavours.
L.S Lowry (Timothy Spall) is a middle-aged man who is a rent collector by day and takes care of his mother, Elizabeth Lowry (Vanessa Redgrave) as soon as he gets home from work. After Mrs Lowry goes to sleep, L.S. escapes to the attic to paint. While he is at his happiest when he paints, what he really wants is for his mother to be proud of his art and to admit that she likes his painting, which is a challenge that he faces every day because she is always saying negative things about him.
At times the film may seem a little slow but it is constantly moving forward and evolving, so even though it may seem like it going at a slow pace, it is actually going somewhere with its story. I have to say that I really enjoyed that way that the film showed L.S. Lowry’s creative process, they did this by showing him visualising what is around him and then displaying Lowry painting what he has seen.
Director Adrian Noble’s attention to detail is great. I liked his choice for the film for it to be constantly raining, which I believe really set the mood of the film. I also think that having melancholy piano music was an excellent choice at setting the tone and praise Craig Armstrong for his beautifully fitting score.
Timothy Spall is brilliant as L.S. Lowry. He was able to express every emotion his character was feeling through extremely expressive facial expressions, which really made you feel every emotion that L.S. Lowry was feeling. Vanessa Redgrave was also fantastic as Elizabeth Lowry. She could made you hate her character whenever she would put down her son, but at the same time, also make you feel sorry for her because she’s bed-ridden and has to be looked after.
I thoroughly enjoyed this film and honestly believe that everyone can get something out of Mrs Lowry & Son. Everyone can relate to having someone tell them that they are not good enough, that they do not believe in you or that you cannot enjoy something that you love. But there is also lesson to be learned in this film, that despite any negativity that might come your way, you shouldn’t give up on your dreams. You should continue doing what you love if it makes you happy.
Mrs Lowry & Son opens in cinemas across Australia on the 28th of November.