The Meddler
4/5
The Meddler (2016) is so much better than you think it’s going to be. Don’t read a plot synopsis before watching, as the wonderfulness of this film isn’t found in the storyline; The Meddler is most exceptional in the moments in between, when it sits back and allows Susan Sarandon to really own her motherly role.
That’s why The Meddler works so well: Sarandon (with help from writer/director Lorene Scafaria’s script) embodies both the good and bad aspects of a mother so well that we see our own moms in her performance and are moved by that.
So many movies whitewash the mother character as either good or bad, rarely allowing for much wiggle room: the mother is frustrating, the mother is cloying, the mother is loving. The Meddler easily combines all aspects into one; I’ve never seen a more wonderful or accurate portrayal of a mom.
The Meddler rides the fine line between a poignant slapstick comedy and an overly dramatic string-pulling comedy. Most of the tenderness, and the laughs, come when Marnie (played by Sarandon) is just being herself—her middle-aged un-self-conscious self. She is at a point in her life when things that would normally be embarrassing are not; she is free of most social constraints and forges her way through life, in touch with everything that really matters and lost with everything that doesn’t (her new iPhone never ceases to enthrall and confuse her).
But the film loses its footing a bit when it dwells too heavily on its plot. When a movie has actresses as good as Sarandon, and a script whose dialogue is as good as The Meddler’s, it transcends the need for drama—I wish this film had revelled more in its own strengths and, in doing so, avoided the speedbumps that presented themselves throughout the second half.
The best example of a film that coasts on its own talent to perfection is Annie Hall (1977); it has a plot, but focuses so intently on its flawless acting and writing that it transcends the romantic-comedy foundation it is built on.
But there are so many wonderful things in The Meddler that its shortcomings seem like small potatoes after a while. I love my mother, and if you love yours, you’ll enjoy this film immensely.