Rab, who has been living homeless, is informed by the police that his mother has just died. He tries to appear circumspect about the news but when he arrives at the hospital he breaks down, especially when he notices that doctors have failed to put her false teeth back in, thus denying her of her dignity,
Things come to head at the pub when Rab meets and almost ends up hitting Mary's lodger Joe, who eventually moves on when he meets a younger woman. The following morning, at his mother's funeral, Rab and Mary bump into each other and end, in more ways than one, reconciling.
Despite a good plot, 'Mother' doesn't hit the nail as well as it could have. Pattison, unusually, failed to get the balance of comedy and pathos right here. On the plus side, Rab's grief at the loss of his mother is deeply moving and believable, performed wonderfully by Gregor Fisher.
Funniest bit - at the pub, Joe is whispering sweet nothings in Ella's ear, causing her to shudder with excitement. Jamesie is infuriated.
JAMESIE: No man makes the wife of Jamesie Cotter shudder!
DODIE: Not even Jamesie Cotter!
Things come to head at the pub when Rab meets and almost ends up hitting Mary's lodger Joe, who eventually moves on when he meets a younger woman. The following morning, at his mother's funeral, Rab and Mary bump into each other and end, in more ways than one, reconciling.
Despite a good plot, 'Mother' doesn't hit the nail as well as it could have. Pattison, unusually, failed to get the balance of comedy and pathos right here. On the plus side, Rab's grief at the loss of his mother is deeply moving and believable, performed wonderfully by Gregor Fisher.
Funniest bit - at the pub, Joe is whispering sweet nothings in Ella's ear, causing her to shudder with excitement. Jamesie is infuriated.
JAMESIE: No man makes the wife of Jamesie Cotter shudder!
DODIE: Not even Jamesie Cotter!
