''The Good Mother'' is a 1988 American

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

and an adaptation of

Sue Miller Sue Miller (born November 29, 1943) is an American novelist and short story writer who has written a number of best-selling novels. Biography Born in Chicago, Miller was preoccupied with her duties as a single mother, leaving little time to write ...

's novel of the same name. Directed by

Leonard Nimoy Leonard Simon Nimoy (; March 26, 1931 – February 27, 2015) was an American actor, famed for playing Spock in the ''Star Trek'' franchise for almost 50 years. This includes originating Spock in the original ''Star Trek'' series in 1966, then ...

, the film stars

Diane Keaton Diane Keaton ('' née'' Hall, born January 5, 1946) is an American actress and director. She has received various accolades throughout her career spanning over six decades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Gl ...

and

Liam Neeson William John Neeson (born 7 June 1952) is an actor from Northern Ireland. He has received several accolades, including nominations for an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and two Tony Awards. In 2020, he was placed 7th on ''The I ...

in the leading roles. ''The Good Mother'' explores feelings and beliefs about children's exposure to adult sexuality and challenges society's growing reliance upon

courts A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance ...

to settle complex private and ethical matters.

Plot

Anna Dunlap (Keaton), is a Boston piano teacher, working part-time at a college laboratory who recently divorced her husband Brian (

James Naughton James Naughton (born December 6, 1945) is an American actor and director. He is best known as Michael Bower on '' Who's the Boss?'' (1984-1992) and was also notable for his earlier role as the astronaut Pete Burke in the 1974 single-season telev ...

) and has custody of her six-year-old daughter Molly ( Asia Viera). Soon, Anna meets and falls in love with Leo (Neeson), an Irish sculptor who helps her to find true passion and fulfillment. He is a nice guy, and has a stable relationship with Anna. Molly is soon exposed to their sexual relationship. One day, Molly sees Leo naked in the bathroom. She points at his private part and asks what it is. He tells her and she asks if she can touch it. He says okay and she puts her little hand on it for a second. However, children being children, Molly talks to Brian about her experience with Leo. Brian accuses Leo of sexually molesting Molly and sues Anna for custody of their daughter. Then, Leo starts facing charges of child molestation, and Anna learns that she may lose custody of Molly to Brian. Leo finally clears himself out after explaining the 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.

Cast

Reception

The film received mixed reviews. On

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

the film has an approval rating of 50% based on reviews from 12 critics.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Good Mother, The 1988 films 1988 romantic drama films American romantic drama films Films scored by Elmer Bernstein Films shot in Toronto Films directed by Leonard Nimoy Touchstone Pictures films Films about mother–daughter relationships 1980s English-language films 1980s American films