The Good Mother
This film is about a recently divorced mother, Anna, and how she copes and moves on with her life. Anna is from a family of some wealth and required obedience. She has learned most of what she would like to be from her Aunt Babe, a free-spirited, physically secure, and mouthy young woman. Babe becomes pregnant out of wedlock, is sent to Europe to finish her pregnancy and give up her child, and comes home only to try to resolve and hide from her downfalls at the bottom of a bottle. Babe drowns one night and it is uncertain if it was accidental or purposeful. Anna was considered a conformist at an early age and yearned to be more like Babe. Once her role model is gone, Anna continues with following form.Anna describes her marriage and sex life as rigid, and her attitude towards her husband as frigid. Her ex-husband remarries almost immediately which makes Anna all the more insecure, feeling easily replaced and commonplace. Then she meets an artist from Ireland, Leo, and becomes enveloped in his zest for life, his ability to make every aspect of life interesting, sensual, loving, and his natural beauty and compassion. Suddenly Anna feels like a desirable woman and invites Leo into every facet of her life, including her young daughter, Molly.
Anna had been raising Molly to understand and be secure with herself and her body, reading her books about the differences in gender and from where babies come. Leo is comfortable and nurturing with Molly and genuinely cares for his new family. One night Molly has a bad dream and goes into Anna's room while she and Leo are having sex. They stop while she tells of her bad dream and falls asleep. From the way the scene ends it does not appear that they continue although they don't deny it later.Anna's ex-husband, Brian, shows up at her house to inform her that he is filing for full-custody because of allegations that Leo has been inappropriate with Molly. We learn that Molly came into the bathroom while Leo was showering and saw him naked. She was curious and asked if she could touch him to understand the difference between male and female. Leo allowed her to since he understood that she was a curious child who was beginning to understand physicality and sexual nature. Brian does not know to any extent about Anna's educational book and misinterprets what Molly says happened. In court the lawyers place blame on Leo, who takes it hoping to end legal matters and keep Molly with Anna. He explains that it was a mistake, that he thought it was in keeping with Anna's parenting, since she had bathed with Molly and was very open with her. A counselor agrees that Leo should have known better but he believes that Molly hasn't been abused and is a very well adjusted and happy child, particularly with Anna and Leo. In the end the judge gives custody to Brian and Anna's relationship with Leo ends. She does not fight for her child although an appeal was an option. She only sees Molly on alternate weekends and holidays. One of her loves was taken away and the other she pushed away.
romantic, flashback