Bad Mother
Drama, Short Films, 22-Jan-2024
As her children gather home on the eve of a funeral, a mother copes with her husband's confession of infidelity. Molly Longwell directs “Bad Mother,” a dramatic comedy where the behavior and decisions of a peculiar family slowly unravels into chaos. As she anticipates the arrival of her two children, “Mother” enjoys the errands into town, a drive back to her country home, and a glass of wine on the porch. There, her guilt-ridden husband informs her of his romantic affair with another woman from the town. Too overwhelmed to comprehend, she downs her white wine, and goes to pick up her daughter from the bus stop. After her Brooklyn-based daughter arrives, so does her son with his wife and infant child. The night continues, and, glass after glass, Mother drowns out her anger with more wine. Her passive-aggressive jabs toward “Father” become more noticeable to where the children frantically demand some explanation of their mother’s animosity. At around a 25 minute runtime, the film’s lengthier span and satirical tone work to richly explore a messy family with problematic tendencies and irritable dynamics. -JM. Writer/Director: Molly Longwell. Mother: Kate Goehring. Father: John Posey. Daughter: Jacqueline DeHart. DP: Jackson Jarvis. Editor: Tair Shachar. Producer: Nabil Elbehri. Sound Designer: Jack Liden. Music Composer: Sam Campoli. Casting Director: Briana Dunlay.