Mother, Couch

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2:09

Mother, Couch

Released Jul 5

1h 36m

Comedy

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

41%

Tomatometer

49 Reviews

30%

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 (KPCC - NPR Los Angeles)

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

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

Manuel Betancourt

FilmWeek (KPCC - NPR Los Angeles)

I don't know if it all comes together, but everyone is so entrancing that you just want to keep watching to see what the hell is going to happen next.

Aug 3, 2024

Full Review

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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

raiyan i

I think this movie is a very good portrayal the complicated feelings of a child who felt betrayed by their parent and the parent's decision but still loves them and seeks their approval. And how as an adult, all of those difficult emotions, pain and disappointment is forced forward to be dealt with when they have to the face the death of that parent.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

09/17/24

Full Review

Audience Member

This movie is like an incoherent dream. The characters run around like ineffective bumblers and no one answers a direct question. Turns out it is something of a dream, and I guess ultimately we all just feel lost.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

09/16/24

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

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

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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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