The Five: Cinema’s Worst Mothers

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Usually, this is a section where highlighting good stuff is the goal. But it seemed time to give something for all the passive aggressive angry people dreading Mother’s Day. And hopefully, even if you have mother problems, you can at least say “well, at least she isn’t that bad.” Plus, they’re really pretty good movies.

1. Mrs. Robinson, The Graduate (Anne Bancroft)

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Bancroft was unbelievably sexy and the fantasy of many young boys decades after sticking her leg out and seducing Benjamin. But she is also a terrible mother to poor Elaine (Katharine Ross). She blames the poor girl for forcing her to settle with her boring husband, and part of the reason she’s with Benjamin is simply to get even with the innocent. Her decision to lie to Elaine about Benjamin’s rape, is based on her pure jealousy and attempt to “force” her daughter to follow in her unhappy footsteps. We all root for Benjamin when he arrives at the church to stop the wedding, but it’s really Elaine who is rebelling when she yells at her mother “it’s not too late for me” and runs out in her wedding dress.


 

2. Mrs. Iselin, the Manchurian Candidate (Angela Lansbury)

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Anyone who complains about their mother being “controlling” should take a look at quintessential mother of mind control. Lansbury is literally controlling her brainwashed son Raymond (Laurence Harvey) in an attempt to put her communist husband in presidential power. And she has no problem destroying the brain of her son, and any chance of a life, by turning him into a hypnotized murder machine. When Raymond is “triggered” by his mother to murder his father-in-law and wife, it’s tragic…but not even as disturbing as it is to see Raymond’s final desperate act to escape the clutches of his controlling mother.


 

3. Smurf Cody, Animal Kingdom (Jacki Weaver)

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How could a woman nicknamed “Smurf” be bad? When we first meet her, she seems like a lovable, funny lady who protects her sons (and their friends) like the ultimate mother hen. Well, she’s also the mastermind of a family of criminals, and so ruthless, she’s willing to treat her own grandson as collateral damage to protect her favorite son. She’ll never pick up a gun herself, but she’s more than willing to use family members as weapons to get exactly what she wants. The simple scene of her making cookies after ordering a “hit” is absolutely sinister. Whether a truly disturbed sense of family loyalty, motherly love, or hiding self preservation, Smurf’s sense of morality is always a question mark.


 

4. Beth Jarrett, Ordinary People (Mary Tyler Moore)

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Considering we’re including some murdering and mind controlling mothers, it seems strange to put sweet Mary Tyler Moore among them. But when you think of how passive aggressive and disinterested she is in her mother, she earns her place. Few women have every made their favoritism of a child as painfully aware as she does with Conrad (Timothy Hutton), the “less than” son who survived a boating accident that killed her favorite son. She seems to have lost (or never had) maternal affection towards her son since his suicide attempt, and seems to be a major cause of his survivor’s guilt and PTSD. She’s so bad, it’s no wonder her husband Calvin (Donald Sutherland) final confrontation seems almost heroic…because he’s saving his son from a lifetime of pain.


 

5. Mrs. Bates, Psycho (?)

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The mother of all mommy issues, Hitchcock’s Psycho starts and end with mother’s watchful eye, despite no longer being around. And 60 years after, Anthony Perkin’s claim that “a boy’s best friend is his mother” sends chills down the back. What we do know about Mrs. Bates is the fact that she used to yell and patronize her devoted, disturbed son, causing him serious mental issues which led him to commit “most unbearable crime of all.” And when we hear “mother” claim “It’s sad, when a mother has to speak the words that condemn her own son” don’t you think she’s also getting a little pleasure bringing pathetic Norman down? But a warning, the only film which features Norma Bates, Psycho IV (played by Olivia Hussey) is not worth a look for even devoted fans of the movie.

 

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Lesley Coffin is a feature editor for FF2media and has also written the books Lew Ayres: Hollywood Conscientious Objector (2012) and Hitchcock's Stars (2014), and currently writing a third book. Follow on twitter @filmbiographer for thoughts on movies and cat pictures.
Lesley Coffin
Lesley Coffin
Lesley Coffin is a feature editor for FF2media and has also written the books Lew Ayres: Hollywood Conscientious Objector (2012) and Hitchcock's Stars (2014), and currently writing a third book. Follow on twitter @filmbiographer for thoughts on movies and cat pictures.