'Mother, May I?' is a 2023 indie movie that debuted at Fantasy Filmfest Nights in Germany earlier this year. Written and directed by Laurence Vannicelli, it follows Holland Roden and Kyle Gallner as young couple Anya and Emmett as they pack up the home of Emmett's deceased mother. The film looks at childhood trauma and repression in a way that blurs the line between reality and the potentially supernatural, as Anya adopts Emmett's mother's behaviour down to the smallest detail.
Travelling along at a sedate pace, Mother, May I? is in no hurry to get to any big reveal. It's like a tangled knot of threads being carefully unpicked and laid out before the viewer. The film is stark in its depiction, without trippy visuals or the typical tropes that usually accompany possible hauntings. Combined with the minimalist cast, it creates something that feels very personal, almost voyeuristic as the viewer watches the layers being peeled back from the relationship between Anya and Emmett.
2023 Burn Later Productions
Said relationship is a highlight of the film. Roden and Gallner have great chemistry with one another and effortlessly carry the story, shifting the tone of their relationship from mostly sweet to uncomfortable as things progress. Having previously only seen Roden as part of an ensemble cast or as a side character it was delightful to see her in this role, particularly during her time embodying the mother character where she balances vulnerability and intimidation. While some scenes seem to imply there are more supernatural elements at play, the nuances of her performance adds to the uncertainty around what is actually happening. Similarly Gallner, a frequent and welcome addition to the casts of many horror movies, brings a steady presence as Emmett that gets more emotional with every passing moment. Like with Roden’s Anya/Mother, there’s a sense of unease and questioning created by Gallner as the cracks in his closed off mask begin to show, allowing glimpses of the pain he feels and the need to be taken care of even in the most dysfunctional of ways.
2023 Burn Later Productions
The potential paranormal elements of the story are kept subtle to allow the emotionally driven core to shine through. It relies on only the suggestion of a ghostly presence, with the occasional faint whisper heard by one of the characters and a few scattered images seen by a distraught Anya that could be seen as nothing more than a grief-fuelled hallucination. Whether there truly is something else at play or whether Anya simply adopts the behaviour herself in an effort to provide some form of closure, either for Emmett or herself, can be discussed and debated long after the end credits have rolled. The film finds a good balance between the paranormal and the more grounded elements, neither overplaying its hand to one or the other.
While this film most certainly isn’t going to appeal to everyone, it is a meticulous slowburn that draws the viewer in, invites them to watch the careful deconstruction of a relationship before leaving them to make their own conclusions. For those that enjoy character driven stories and aren’t afraid of a little ambiguity, it is well worth a watch.