Marion McPherson from Lady Bird (2018)
Ambitious Christina McPherson, who calls herself Lady Bird, dreams of living and studying in New York City. She does everything possible to achieve this, but one obstacle remains immovable: her mother. This woman works as a nurse, lives under constant financial stress, and never takes a break. She is used to keeping everything under control, including her daughter, because otherwise, as she believes, the world will collapse. Marion’s paranoid thoughts haunt her every moment, so there is definitely no time for any “dreams,” which is exactly what her mother tries to tell Lady Bird, believing that she herself needs help and support more than her daughter. And while Marion certainly isn’t the epitome of “total surveillance,” she still displays the hallmarks of an overprotective mother: criticism, pressure, and, most importantly, belittling her child’s ambitions. But Marion isn’t being mean: she simply doesn’t know how to gently show her love, or how to accept that she’s missed out on her own goals because of her own choices.
Mernie from “The Peddler” (2015)
An elderly widow from New York follows her daughter, Laurie, to Los Angeles, hoping to start over with a clean slate. Seeking to fill the void, Marney becomes excessively involved in Laurie’s life: constantly visiting her, constantly calling, offering advice unsolicited, and trying to meddle in everyone’s affairs. Marney only begins to reflect on the wisdom of her actions after a session with a psychologist. The therapist reveals a simple truth: it turns out that it’s possible to live differently, by releasing control over everything and everyone. This marks the beginning of her transformation: she begins to learn to set her own boundaries and understand those of others, and soon discovers new possibilities for “family harmony.” The result is a touching story that combines elements of melodrama and comedy.
Daria from “Unprincipled” (2020)
The series is a light satire on the lives of wealthy Muscovites living on Patriarch’s Ponds: their everyday and romantic ups and downs, betrayals, deception, and the stupid situations they find themselves in. One of the main characters, Daria, is an overly caring mother. She constantly worries about her daughter, Alenka, who moved to Moscow with her from the village. However, her concern is more like a scam – Daria does everything to help her daughter find a rich husband, even giving her lessons and advice on feminine wisdom. However, Alenka is not so simple either: she is not against finding a “sugar daddy”, but she wants to do it herself. Together, mother and daughter will go a long way, which you can watch starting April 30th in the new season of “Unprincipled” on Kinopoisk.
Mina from “Hungry Hearts” (2014)
The film tells the story of a married couple, Mina and Jude, whose relationship is destroyed by Mina’s obsession with “clean” nutrition for their child. Although Mina initially appears as an unusual, yet very vulnerable and sensitive woman, her behavior changes dramatically during pregnancy, revealing previously “invisible” traits. It turns out she’s so obsessed with cleanliness that she distrusts modern medicine, which later leads to a difficult birth. But things get worse: after the birth of her son, Mina keeps him on a vegan diet, which leads to a deterioration in both the child’s health and her relationship with Jude. And all this is frightening not only because of the cruelty towards the child, but also because Mina sincerely believes that she is doing everything right, because only she can save the child from all the evil that is in this world and, especially, in the ingredients on the labels of modern food products.
Joyce Brewster from “My Mother’s Curse” (2012)
A comedic road movie about the journey of an entrepreneur. The main character, Andy Brewster, has invented a new environmentally friendly detergent and invites his mother, Joyce, to go on an advertising campaign for this product across the country. However, Andy has another, secret, and special goal on this trip: since his mother has been unable to find a partner since her husband’s death, he wants to “unite” her with her former boyfriend. Meanwhile, Joyce, who blames herself for her son’s romantic failures, also decides to step up and help him in this and a hundred other aspects of his life. It turns out that the trip brings together two “rescuers”—a group no one would want to be in. However, the film gradually reveals that not everything is so bad, and Joyce isn’t an evil character at all: her protectiveness is more comical than frightening. Throughout the film, the characters learn to understand each other’s boundaries, moving from overprotection to mutual assistance and support.
Jackie Harrison from Stepmom (1998)
The story revolves around Jackie, Luke’s ex-wife. The man recently found a new girlfriend – a young woman named Isabel – so Jackie has another reason for stress. Especially since that fateful day came when Luke decided to take the children from his previous marriage for the weekend, which completely infuriated the heroine, who was used to completely controlling the lives of her son and daughter. But, fortunately for her, everything went so smoothly for the couple with their young guests: it turns out Isabella struggles with children, and although Luke helps her build relationships with them, she still struggles. Watching Luke “care” for his new family, where she no longer fits, Jackie continues to suffer from jealousy, until suddenly life takes a turn for the worse in this “Santa Barbara”: she learns of her illness and is completely transformed. Together with Isabella, she will have to put their differences aside for the sake of the children’s well-being, and leaving her overprotective mother will be the first step.
Lavona Golden from I, Tonya (2017)
The film is based on the true story of figure skater Tonya Harding. The girl grows up in a poor family with a strict, cold, and despotic mother. Her mother tries with all her might to raise Tonya to be a champion, so she approaches her upbringing with all ferocity: she totally controls her life and training, constantly intimidates and insults her, raising the bar each time. On the one hand, the mother is genuinely interested in her daughter’s success: she herself encouraged Tonya to take up figure skating, sacrificing her money and time for her career. But behind the glare of the spotlights and future medals, the woman did not notice how she had turned into a tyrant. However, despite all this, Lavona played a significant role in shaping Tony’s character, which the viewer will guess at the end of the film, which is available for viewing on Okko.
