Motherhood

Director: Katherine Dieckmann
Screenwriters: Katherine Dieckmann

Institute History

  • 2009 Sundance Film Festival

Description

Eliza Welch is having a really bad day. A middle-aged mom in post-9/11 Manhattan with two kids, an oblivious husband, and an incontinent dog, Eliza is a consummate multitasker facing the soul-crushing fear that her dreams of being a writer are going down the diaper bin.

Motherhood takes place in a single day—a day when Eliza becomes a magnet for the entire city’s hostility. She has to throw her daughter’s sixth birthday party, battle for a parking space, chase her toddler son, navigate playground politics, repair a botched birthday cake, contemplate a fling with a sexy messenger half her age, juggle a career-changing opportunity, find time to have a breakdown, briefly run away from home, and realize what is truly valuable in her life—all in one day.

As Eliza, the irresistibly charming Uma Thurman is up to the task. Anthony Edwards and Minnie Driver lend expert support. With a keen eye for the delicious details that define authenticity, Motherhood depicts a world we may think we know and injects it with freshness and humor. Written and directed by Katherine Dieckmann, Motherhood is a funny and poignant comedy about one woman’s quest to hold on to her true self as she embraces the foibles, heartache, and joys of being a mother.

— David Courier

Screening Details

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