Some Mother's Son

R

1996

1 hr. 52 min.

Drama

List

71%

17 Reviews

Tomatometer

86%

1,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

In 1981, Kathleen Quigley (Helen Mirren), a soft-spoken Irish schoolteacher, is shocked to learn that her son, Gerard (Aidan Gillen), has been arrested for his involvement in the Irish Republican Army. In prison, Gerard and his friend, Frank Higgins (David O'Hara), participate in a hunger strike. Kathleen, who's desperately worried for Gerard's health, strikes up an unlikely friendship with Frank's mother, Annie (Fionnula Flanagan), who supports their sons' drastic choice.

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lanfranco c

Dramatic and Powerful!

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

Audience Member

some mothers son is an amazing film and gives you an inside look in to what really went on with the hunger strikers. truly touching film five star film by far the acting is briliant in this film one of my personal favourites.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/04/23

Full Review

Audience Member

too political!! and they used this as a story that was!!!!!! uninspiring

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

02/17/23

Full Review

carlo c

De los mimos productores de 'En El Nombre del Padre', esta cinta actuada y producida por Hellen Mirren cuenta la historia de un grupo de integrantes del IRA que a principios de los ochentas, bajo el régimen de la primer ministra Margaret Tatcher, fueron capturados, encarcelados y desmoralizados, al grado de que se debatieron entre la vida y la muerte en la lucha por sus ideales, pereciendo algunos, saliendo avante otros. Buena película y ver a Helen Mirren siempre es un deleite

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Like In the Name of the Father, SMS peaks into the lives of its political prisoners through the eyes of their family members outside the walls, the cameras taking a back seat to the drama until the well-executed street marches and funerals. Even during the emotional hunger strike sequence, directors Whelan and George maintain a respectful distance, refraining from the usual heavy-handedness applied to movies about The Troubles. While Lynch and O'Hara make plausible IRA heavyweights, Brit stalwart Mirren's accent sounds more Home Counties than Irish but doesn't that detract from a fine performance as mother of one of the hunger strikers. A bleak and heartfelt film but rousing in its own subtle way.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/23/23

Full Review

Audience Member

More Provo propaganda which portrays the IRA in a way to make the audience feel sympathetic for their "cause"

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/25/23

Full Review

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Terry George

Director

Helen Mirren

Kathleen Quigley

Fionnula Flanagan

Annie Higgins

Aidan Gillen

Gerard Quigley

David O'Hara

Frank Higgins

John Lynch

Bobby Sands

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13%

24%

Striptease

30%

42%

Shock and Awe

TRAILER

for Shock and Awe

92%

85%

I, Daniel Blake

TRAILER

for I, Daniel Blake

96%

78%

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for Manchester by the Sea

67%

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Lisa Schwarzbaum

Entertainment Weekly

Rated: B

Sep 7, 2011

Full Review

Russell Smith

Austin Chronicle

Rated: 4/5

Jun 5, 2005

Full Review

Globe and Mail

Rated: 2.5/4

Apr 12, 2002

Full Review

Tom Cassidy

Common Sense Media

While Hunger tells the story in unflinching, gruesome detail, Some Mother's Son is a slightly easier but still troubling account of a desperate period of Irish and British history.

Rated: 4/5

Oct 18, 2023

Full Review

Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

Rated: 3/5

Nov 23, 2004

Full Review

Daniel M. Kimmel

Worcester Telegram & Gazette

Rated: 3/5

Jul 2, 2004

Full Review

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Synopsis

In 1981, Kathleen Quigley (Helen Mirren), a soft-spoken Irish schoolteacher, is shocked to learn that her son, Gerard (Aidan Gillen), has been arrested for his involvement in the Irish Republican Army. In prison, Gerard and his friend, Frank Higgins (David O'Hara), participate in a hunger strike. Kathleen, who's desperately worried for Gerard's health, strikes up an unlikely friendship with Frank's mother, Annie (Fionnula Flanagan), who supports their sons' drastic choice.

Director: Terry George
Executive Producer: Rod Stoneman
Screenwriter: Terry George, Jim Sheridan
Production Co: Castle Rock Entertainment, Hell's Kitchen Films
Rating: R
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 29, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $608.0K

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