Mammal (2016) Reviews

• Mammals: strange creatures that often lack proper motive

  JPfanatic932016-04-16

  Why would a new mother abandon her child and husband? It's an intriguing question, usually surrounded with heavy social stigma, since any mother denying her maternal instincts is either downright abject or at the least a bad excuse for a person, or so society swiftly judges. Nevertheless, it happens and it begs an answer. Those looking for one will not find it in Mammal. In fact, though at first thought the movie seems to revolve around a mother who accepts a second chance for motherhood, that may be too much of a generalization. But some sort of connection, both emotional and physical, between two vastly different but equally lost souls, is certainly in order in this narrative. Margaret abandoned her family soon after her son was born, and she now has been out of their lives for 18 years. When news about her son's disappearance reaches her, not much sorrow is demonstrated. Nevertheless, around the same time, she accepts a wild kid from the street, roughly the same age as her own child, to live with her. The big question obviously being why. A simple act of generosity? Or perhaps another shot at maternity, after foregoing that responsibility all those years ago? For a while, the latter option seems to be the case, but when things get overly physical between her and the boy, Joe, that theory doesn't hold up any more. If motherhood is indeed Margaret's objective, she has some odd notions of the concept at least. Unfortunately, Mammal - the title suggests a nurturing nature to their relationship based on maternal instincts, though there's also an undeniable social aspect to it as well, so one can look at it from both angles - is short on motivations. It's not Daly's intention to spoon feed us all the answers, which is fine, but there's simply too few of those concerning the various characters' actions to go around. Things happen as they do, while particular reasons are entirely up to the viewer to come up with. It makes Mammal a rather hollow film. Thankfully, there's strong performances throughout, which do make us care enough to stick with the protagonists rather than lose all interest entirely. We hardly get to know these people to the extent that we should for Mammal to deliver the gripping drama it feels like it wants to, but as fellow mammals we sympathize enough to feel some emotional connection to stick with them for a good hour and a half.

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• most underrated film ever

  isabelaghahowa2019-03-18

  This film needs more recognition, probably the most underrated film i have ever seen in my life. I am here to give it the proper review it deserves and needs. Mammal is a film about loneliness and vulnerability, it is very painful to watch purely because of how hard it is to accept once its over, it was hard for me to realise that this story, these characters, their struggles and their pain will no longer be shared with me, but i got so much out of the experience, that it feels like it is all going to relive itself within me, and that is the beauty of films and films like this that are able to get under my skin and feed into my understanding of people and of difficult experiences. It's one of those films that makes you want to sit in your room and cry afterwards, in the dark, naked. It is a whirlwind of a film and i could not have been more pleased with it. It reminds me of films such as Weekend, Miss Stevens, Fish Tank, and others of the like. Very straight to the point, very visual in its storytelling, quiet and quite stoic in its delivery, incredibly vulnerable and rough around the edges, i love that type of filmmaking, and i love this film for the way it manages to introduce and establish all these different elements and manages to tie it all together. For example, i love how the film trusted me to make the subconscious connection between Margaret's obsession with swimming with the drowning of her dead son, Margaret and Joe also share this connection as both have an interest in the sensation of blacking out, the feeling you get right before, this connection was weird but it felt so calming. And obviously there is the connection between Joe and Margaret's dead son who are both young teenagers who Margaret has a close connection to, and it feels like Margaret is trying to find love within Joe, love she couldn't find within the family she once had, and the fact that it happened to be found within Joe, is something that many could take as her trying to bury her guilt over what she failed to do as a mother and as a wife, but personally, I just think its a beautiful love story between two broken people, and that is all it really needs to be. The sensitivity of it, the inclusivity of it, the things that make people uncomfortable are the things that make me feel safe, and understood, and films that are brave enough to take this type of filmmaking, and use it to tell this type of story, are films i want to watch a lot more of. I am glad i decided to watch this film as now it is a part of me, and i now know more about myself because of it. I have introduced these characters into my space and now i can't help but recognise that they are in it and always will be. Mammal is a beautiful, one beyond words, i have to really think about how this film made me feel because it made me feel so much so quick, it made my heart feel like it was about to burst at times out of pure awe and love and i don't know how films manage to make me feel this way. It is a powerful movie, a movie most wont be able to enjoy or take much from, but for me, it is one of those films that when you think about, it just makes you feel so light and warm, but sad and lonely, in a good way. Mammal will definitely be rewatched, purely because i feel like that one time was not enough, and also i love Barry Keoghan's performance (he is starting to become a favourite, he's so talented!) and Rachel Griffiths' performance as well, they were both SO good in this film, i couldn't believe how great they were, they were fantastic and they really made me want to just completely become absorbed by their story because they worked so well together, that dynamic was so thrilling to watch, it was magical. I cannot tell you how many times i felt like my body was just naturally tensing, how many times i felt my heart sink to the floor, how many times i wanted to just stop watching because i was so frustrated and scared for Joe and Margaret, i cannot fully put into words what this film did, but it made me a part of it, that is something that does not happen very often for me, and when it does, i make sure to remember it, because it has now become something very important to me. This film really has a lot going on when you think about it, but visually its very clean and very airy, it makes you feel like nothing is happening yet everything is happening at the same time. It touches on loss, homophobia, youth, love, and more, sometimes all at once. The way it hides what it is about amongst everything else was really interesting to me, and i feel like people who actually care to think about this film, can take a lot from it, visually and emotionally. I love how the film looks, the colours that they use, they add so much to the tone of the film, the characters, the way they feel, the way they act, it all felt so natural and brilliantly put-together. It was gut-wrenching at times, but then there were moments of just absolute tenderness, I could feel it in the room, it was so bizarre how much it infiltrated my space and my mind. I love Mammal, i think everyone should watch it and take what they will from it, it is a film that i have now realised i hold very close to my heart and i hope more people come across this film, watch it, and then feel what i felt.

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• 2 broken people,one depressing movie

  brandyjirik2018-07-16

  If the director was trying to make the viewer uncomfortable, confused and depressed then he accomplished that much.The movie was basically about a broken woman and a troubled,obviously hurting young man who she decided to take in to her home.The events that took place during the film were slow,awkward and strange to say the least but not in an enjoyable way.The movie went absolutely no where and even tho the acting was very good it couldn't make up for everything else it was lacking.

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