‘Mother, Couch’ Review: Surreal Family Conflict Is a Strange Journey

Whether it tickles your absurdist mind or tests your sense of narrative logic, one thing is certain about the Buñuelian drama-comedy “Mother, Couch.” It is an original and completely unpredictable experience from beginning to end. It is also by turns exciting, provocative, head-scratching, unsettling, and likely to leave viewers divided between dreamy ambition and metaphorical reflection.

Based on the 2020 novel “Mamma i Soffa” (“Mother on the Sofa”) by Swedish author Jerker Virdborg, this well-cast film, directed and adapted by first-time feature director Niclas Larsson, is set primarily in a cluttered, cavernous, yet oddly cozy furniture store called Oakbeds, where an 82-year-old woman (Ellen Burstyn), wearing a 1960s blonde wig and known only as “Mother,” sits transfixed on a display sofa, unmoving.

We don’t know why (we don’t know much here), and the mother seems unfazed by her decision to stay. But that’s really just a springboard for her middle-aged children—the troubled David (Ewan McGregor), the cheerful Gruffudd (Rhys Ifans) and the hostile, chain-smoking Linda (Lara Flynn Boyle)—to figure out how to get their rebellious mother out of the store before it closes. Maybe forever.

Saleswoman Bella (Taylor Russell, “Waves”), the daughter of Oakbed’s quirky twin owners Marcus and Marco (F. Murray Abraham, in a dual role), serves as the heart and conscience of the story as she helps David and his brothers solve their conundrums. But her actions and motivations soon become nonlinear, like much of the story. That’s not a bad thing; it just adds to the film’s deeply surreal and eccentric nature.

The three estranged half-siblings (each with a different father) share a lot of troubling family history, most notably involving their difficult mothers. Now that David, Gruffudd and Linda are thrown together, they may have a chance to mend their broken relationships. But David is hurt, and in a cleansing tirade, he tries to set some things straight, especially about the unanswered childhood letters he wrote to his brother and sister. It’s a heartbreaking scene, and McGregor, who is generally excellent and often heartbreaking, is particularly powerful here.

David also has to confront his mother with harsh truths about his life, his contempt for parenting, and his disappointment in love. If we weren’t convinced before, Mom confirms her position as a selfish, manipulative, and possibly irredeemable force. And now at 91, the legendary Burstyn tears through her barbed wire with unapologetic conviction. She’s still a master of her craft.

As if David had too much to do, he also had to juggle the demands of his wife (Lake Bell) and two young children. But the frantic moments spent away from his mother and siblings felt like they were tacked on for the sake of pressure rather than to help inform or clarify the main plot of the story. And that’s where the film loses some of its momentum.

As is often the case with dreams and nightmares of reality, the North Carolina-set story slowly but steadily descends into increasingly bizarre and enigmatic territory. It all builds to a tense, impressively shot and composed climax that offers perhaps the most penetrating window into the film’s familial themes (essentially, the need to let go), but still leaves much room for interpretation.

Larsson manages a star-studded ensemble and a hall of mirrors-like action and interaction with confidence and vision, making him a filmmaker to watch. It’s a unique debut.

For some, “Mother, Couch” will be an unforgettable and thought-provoking watch, one that can be re-watched over and over again to better piece together the film’s fantastical puzzle pieces. However, for viewers with less patience and a sense of adventure, this film is not recommended, although it is certainly not recommended.