Ey- yo, ma! While this cat call has been a part of many females’ lives
from a very young age, this film gives most of the power to one female in
particular who plays by nobody’s rules but her own. “Ma” tells the story of a
peculiar, middle-aged woman who goes out of her way to be nice to younger
members of a community that is quite small and, thus, inextricably tied to each
other- for better AND worse.
The film starts with an introduction to the new kid in a town
completely foreign to her during the middle of the school year. When a former
new kid extends her an offer to hang out with a group of “cool kids,” Maggie (played by the FAST rising, talented and eerily reminiscent of Julia Roberts star who also just crushed it in Booksmart, Diana Silvers) reluctantly
accepts. As Maggie’s mother Erica (played by another film OG in Juliette Lewis) becomes aware of
her daughter’s making friends, she warns her to be very careful of who she
befriends. In a series of most unexpected events, Sue Ann aka Ma (played by the perfectly
creepy Octavia Spencer) becomes one of those very people. What ensues is an unraveling of
weird events that weave an increasingly complex web of lies and secrets between
all parties involved.
I cannot emphasize this enough: when watching a fictional movie,
everyone is better served doing so with a heightened suspension of disbelief.
Of course what a film’s characters do are not always going to be in line with
what we would- that’s not what I go to the movies for. I go to be ENTERTAINED.
And, while there are head-scratching moments in this one, overall, it’s
actually pretty entertaining. Sue Ann is just quirky enough that you not only want
to see what she is capable of doing next, you’re also at least nominally
interested in the “why.” The film also boasts a nice mix of “jump” scares and
“psychological” frights that sustain, at the very least, an interest in seeing
how the next one plays out.
Honestly, I was expecting this film to be much cornier and a bigger “waste” of
a movie outing than it was. The small town dynamic reminded me of high
school/college towns I’ve been a part of where it’s almost impossible to live
outside of a far-reaching microscope. And the less pervasive themes including
racism and sexism help make the plot even nominally more relatable. For being
surprisingly entertaining and much more thought-provoking than I ever imagined,
I give Ma 3 reps out of 5. At around 100 minutes long, the film is an easy
watch in theaters- although many will safely wait to catch it in the comfort of
their homes once available. It also helped my experience that I was among the
audience members in the first group of seats closest to the big screen. There
were times I thought Sue Ann might approach me next!
Has Ma done you any favors yet? Or are you steering clear of her
“kindness”? Let me know in the comments section either way! Remember, there are NO spoilers up in here... NOT UP IN HERE!
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