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Mother, Couch

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2:09

Mother, Couch

Released Jul 5, 2024

1h 36m

Comedy

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

42%

Tomatometer

50 Reviews

37%

Popcornmeter

Fewer than 50 Ratings

The members of a dysfunctional family find themselves mysteriously trapped in an antiquated furniture store when their elderly matriarch (Ellen Burstyn) suddenly refuses to get up from one of the display couches. Reluctantly assembled, her three estranged children -- David (Ewan McGregor), Gruffudd (Rhys Ifans), and Linda (Lara Flynn Boyle) -- must figure out how to escape this bizarre predicament. With the help of the store managers, Marco & Marcus (F. Murray Abraham), and their daughter Bella (Taylor Russell) the siblings embark on a mind-bending odyssey that forces them to face life-altering truths about their own lives and upbringing. Boasting "sensational" performances from an "A-List cast" (Deadline), Mother, Couch marks director Niclas Larsson as "a major new voice breaking through in cinema" (Slash Film).

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Critics Consensus

Despite terrific performances, Mother, Couch is one of those finds that are hard to put together and never quite look like the picture on the box.

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Peter Rainer

FilmWeek (LAist)

I'm not sure what's going on in this film, but it does grip you because the characters are well-defined and the acting is terrific.

Aug 3, 2024

Full Review

Gary Goldstein

Los Angeles Times

From start to finish, it’s an original, wholly unpredictable experience. It’s also, by turns, gripping, provocative, head-scratching and disturbing, and is likely to divide viewers with its dreamlike ambitions and metaphorical musings.

Jul 16, 2024

Full Review

Daniella Mazzio

Chicago Reader

Mother, Couch captures something real about family and aging, but it remains unsatisfactory.

Jul 9, 2024

Full Review

Kathy Fennessy

Video Librarian Magazine

Niclas Larsson’s first feature, after several shorts, isn’t a complete misfire, but it’s mainly for devoted Ewan McGregor fans, since none of the other characters register as strongly—not even the mother on the couch.

Rated: 3/5

Apr 28, 2025

Full Review

Javier Ocaña

El Pais (Spain)

Larsson clings to sublime moments of personal strife, associating them with contemporary surrealism, in this fractured and imperfect, but always stimulating, film. [Full review in Spanish]

Nov 16, 2024

Full Review

Nicholas Bell

Fish Jelly Films (YouTube)

An absurdist, existential exercise on grief and regret, Mother, Couch benefits from an exemplary cast in this wearying, nightmarish scenario of familial dysfunction.

Rated: 3/5

Aug 7, 2024

Full Review

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Liliput L

What i got from it was the couch being the metaphor for death. The other two siblings knew she was dying, and had accepted it. Ewan McGregor character hadn't. The mum was saying I can't leave the couch your way, but I will soon, my own way. My death. For me a tale of the mum letting the son know he has to accept her death is coming. I loved it.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

05/18/25

Full Review

kpk k

Good Actors and acting but plot was predictable in a macro sense with some quirks put in for effect. Could have been much more.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/15/25

Full Review

Alan W

Nobody's heard of Mother, Couch! either, Niclas Larsson's adaptation of Mamma I Soffa, a 2020 Swedish novel by Jerker Virdborg, in which Ellen Burstyn plays the unnamed Mother who refuses to move from a couch in a furniture store in the middle of nowhere run by Taylor Russell's Bella and her father played by F. Murray Abraham. Ewan McGregor, Rhys Ifans and Lara Flynn Boyle play siblings who try to reason with her in this surreal/pretentious/underwhelming film which I cannot make heads nor tails of as to what it's really about. The cast deserves better and the payoff, if it's actually what I think it is, is not worth sitting 96mins for, even if I'm stuck on a plane. And it's never a good sign to have this much punctuation in a film title.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

11/24/24

Full Review

Jonathan A

Sincere and unique, this movies cast and soundtrack along with its strange story made me really like the film. Unpredictable but grounded with genuine family drama and some bleak dark humor. Recommend checking it out.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/19/24

Full Review

Andrei D

There's something here and McGregor tries but it lacks any real substance or horror

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

10/04/24

Full Review

Steve D

Inane and senseless.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

09/20/24

Full Review

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Niclas Larsson

Director

Ewan McGregor

David

Rhys Ifans

Gruffudd

Taylor Russell

Bella

Ellen Burstyn

Mother

Lara Flynn Boyle

Linda

Mother, Couch: Exclusive Movie Clip - Linda's Arrival

1:26

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Mother, Couch: Trailer 1

2:09

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Synopsis

The members of a dysfunctional family find themselves mysteriously trapped in an antiquated furniture store when their elderly matriarch (Ellen Burstyn) suddenly refuses to get up from one of the display couches. Reluctantly assembled, her three estranged children -- David (Ewan McGregor), Gruffudd (Rhys Ifans), and Linda (Lara Flynn Boyle) -- must figure out how to escape this bizarre predicament. With the help of the store managers, Marco & Marcus (F. Murray Abraham), and their daughter Bella (Taylor Russell) the siblings embark on a mind-bending odyssey that forces them to face life-altering truths about their own lives and upbringing. Boasting "sensational" performances from an "A-List cast" (Deadline), Mother, Couch marks director Niclas Larsson as "a major new voice breaking through in cinema" (Slash Film).

Director: Niclas Larsson
Producer: Ella Bishop, Pau Suris, Alex Black, Sara Murphy
Screenwriter: Niclas Larsson
Distributor: Film Movement / Memory
Production Co: Fat City
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jul 5, 2024, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 13, 2024
Runtime: 1h 36m

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