Certain of Lowry's paintings have become iconic since the painter's death so, we cannot really feel the rejection he is subjected to by his screen mother, Vanessa Redgrave. Redgrave gives somewhat of a likeable performance of a woman who by all accounts was a harridan with ideas well above her station in life. The real Mrs Lowry did suffer some unfortunate life experiences and yes, blaming her son - whose birth was extremely difficult - is understandable to an extent. However, to persist with this attitude towards her son for 52 years is damnable. We don't really get to see this real nastiness in this saccharined and tidied up portrayal. For all its faults though, Spall and Redgrave give a creditable sense of depth to this brief view of one of Britain's most beloved modern artist's life. Older viewers will spot a number of glaring prop errors but that still doesn't deflect from a nicely told fictional tale based on a real person.
Review of Mrs Lowry & Son
