Mrs Lowry and Son

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Vanessa Redgrave and Timothy Spall steal the show

This film depicts LS Lowry’s life in Lancashire in the 1930s, when he lived at home, caring for his widowed mother – devoted but lonely.

Bed-ridden and bitter, his mother actively tries to dissuade her son from pursuing his artistic ambitions, whilst never failing to voice her opinion at what a disappointment he is to her.

Elizabeth’s deadpan gloom spans the entire movie. At one point Lowry patiently asks her to be cheerful and she replies acidly: “I haven’t been cheerful since 1898.” 

Lowry himself is shown living a musingly melancholy existence with hints that the London art world might just be starting to appreciate him.

Although sad and unsettling in places, the film is livelier than it may sound thanks to fine writing, deft direction and the superb interplay between Redgrave and Spall.