Ewan McGregor and Ellen Burstyn are a toxic son-mother duo just in time for Mother’s Day.
The aptly titled indie film “Mother, Couch” marks first time filmmaker Niclas Larsson’s directorial debut. Larsson penned the script based on Jerker Virdborg’s novel “Mamma I Soffa” that centers on a dysfunctional family trying to convince their mother (Burstyn) to leave a department store.
A trio of estranged children — David (McGregor), Gruffudd (Rhys Ifans), and Linda (Lara Flynn Boyle) — must figure out how to escape the eerie store that is owned by identical twins Marco and Marcus (F. Murray Abraham) and daughter Bella (Taylor Russell). The film becomes a descent into madness and mayhem as the store melts into a surreal purgatory where the two families must purge their long-withheld resentments.
“Mother, Couch” is produced by Ella Bishop and Pau Suris for Suris/Bishop Films, Alex Black for Lyrical Media, and Sara Murphy for Fat City. Executive producers are Jon Rosenberg and Natalie Sellers under their Lyrical Media banner, Ryan Zacarias for Fat City, McGregor, and David Harari. “Mother, Couch” was made in co-production with Film i Vast and Snowglobe. The feature debuted at TIFF.
While “Mother, Couch” is Larsson’s feature debut, the Swedish filmmaker previously helmed the short film series “Magic Diner,” starring Alicia Vikander.
The IndieWire review compared Larsson’s film to Ari Aster’s “Beau Is Afraid,” writing, “‘Mother, Couch’ and ‘Beau Is Afraid’ are the ideal double feature in the 2023 film trend of narcissistic mothers: Could Larsson be the new Ari Aster? His vision for ‘Mother, Couch’ is sewn into every frame of the film, and Larsson’s presence in Hollywood is certainly not one to discount. In short, ‘Mother, Couch’ is a triumph that marks, bafflingly, writer-director Niclas Larsson’s feature debut.”
Film Movement will co-release “Mother, Couch” with Memory.
McGregor recently appeared in series “A Gentleman in Moscow” and is expected to reprise his role in Disney+’s “Obi-Wan Kenobi.”
“Mother, Couch” premieres in theaters in New York at the Angelika Film Center on July 5 and in Los Angeles at the Landmark Nuart on July 12. Check out the trailer below.
