Movies That Are Honest About Motherhood
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We don’t need to tell you this because you already know. But it still bears repeating — motherhood is complicated. It can be equal amounts messy, joyous, and difficult, but it’s always overwhelming. For years, it’s felt like mothers have endured the ups and downs of motherhood (but especially the downs) without really being able to talk about it. Are there other moms experiencing this too? Is one person’s experience of motherhood the same as everyone else’s?
Luckily, with some movies like Mother’s Instinct and Parallel Mothers making a bang recently, Hollywood has never been more open to exploring the heart-wrenching (and sometimes downright traumatic) aspects of motherhood — and these films aren’t alone.
There are some truly great movies out there that dare to be blunt and honest about motherhood in all its joys, sorrows, and stresses. Over the course of the 21st century especially, it’s felt like even more stories about the complexity of motherhood have vindicated what audiences may have assumed about motherhood, but never had confirmed.
So many movies, like 2018’s Tully for example, pull back the curtain and give a frank look at motherhood. In Tully, starring Charlize Theron, Marlo is a mom grappling with having her third child all while raising two young ones. It’s a deft look at the way mothers can grapple with postpartum depression and psychosis, while also showing that motherhood isn’t pretty by any means. It’s messy.
But there are also films that celebrate motherhood while showing how complicated it can be. Lady Bird and The Joy Luck Club focus on the relationships between mothers and daughters, while 20th Century Women shows that it can take a village (of women) to raise an adolescent boy. There’s a wealth of maternal experiences in these movies, and we hope there are more to come in the future.
Read on for more movies that don’t shy away from showing the harder parts of motherhood below.
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‘Nightbitch’
While Amy Adams’ movie Nightbitch has yet to hit streaming platforms, it’s one of the realest movies about motherhood from the past few years. The movie follows a stay-at-home whose everyday life begins to take a toll when she finds herself turning into a dog. A crazy premise, but a must-watch for moms.
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‘Never Let Go’
While Never Let Go is about much more than motherhood, the 2024 horror movie tells the story of a mother not afraid to go to lengths to protect her kids.
Talking to Berry ahead of the release, the Oscar winner explained her character’s protectiveness was something she majorly related to. “I became a mom 16 years ago and for the last 16 years, I have not slept the same,” Berry said. “I’ve not had a good night’s sleep for 16 years because of that maternal instinct and that mother’s constant worry and care and concern for her children. I mean, once you become a mom or a parent you’re forever changed and so that’s the easy part of what I bring to these mom roles.”
“It’s in my body,” she added. “I understand a mother’s love, a mother’s fierce protection of her kids.”
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‘Mother’s Instinct’
Telling the story of two picture-perfect housewives, Mother’s Instinct shows what a mother can do when her child’s been wronged. The story follows these close moms when a tragic incident forever alters their world (and their friendship).
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‘We Need to Talk About Kevin’
We Need to Talk About Kevin is a movie about motherhood not suited for the faint of heart.
The critically acclaimed movie follows mom Eva (Tilda Swinton) as she struggles to bond with her son Kevi throughout her life. As he gets older, their disconnect reaches another level, and Kevin’s (Ezra Miller) threats start to become dangerous.
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‘Stella Dallas’
Starring Anne Shirley and Barbara Stanwyck, Stella Dallas tells the story of a mom and her daughter as the daughter navigates her parents’ divorce and the changing dynamics with her parents while her mom struggles to change her role as her daughter gets older.
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‘Stepmom’
In addition to motherhood, 1998’s Stepmom tells the tale of step-motherhood too. The touching movie shows Julia Roberts figuring herself out as a stepmom after beginning a relationship with a much older divorcé, played by Ed Harris.
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‘Minari’
Led by Steven Yeun and Han Yeri, Minari tells the unconventional story of a South Korean family who moves to rural Arkansas in search of the American Dream in the 1980s. In the process, the family reflects on what makes a home, their culture, and the hardships of building their lives all over again.
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‘Juno’
While Elliot Page’s character Juno is pregnant for most of the movie, 2007’s Juno tells different perspectives around motherhood. While Juno grapples with an unplanned pregnancy and the decisions she’s about to make, Jennifer Garner’s character Vanessa shows the struggles and love a mother can have for their adoptive child.
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‘Tár’
Todd Field’s Tár shows Cate Blanchett as the perfectionist conductor and mom Lydia Tár. In a specific scene where she goes after her adopted daughter’s bully, she begins to show her power as well as the cracks in her persona. In another moment, her partner Sharon (Nina Hoss) realizes her relationship with their daughter Petra is her only connection that isn’t transactional and that completely changes their dynamic.
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‘Parallel Mothers’
Pedro Almodóvar’s Parallel Mothers tells the story of two women in very different circumstances who give birth at the same time in the same hospital, played by Penélope Cruz and Milena Smith. Over the next year, the film follows how these two mothers’ experiences of parenting unfold and how their lives intertwine with one another, each struggling to define what they want from a family as the film explores nature vs. nurture, the limits of familial and romantic ties, and more.
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‘The Lost Daughter’
The Lost Daughter, Maggie Gyllenhaal’s directorial debut, cuts deep into the dark side of motherhood. The film adaptation of Elena Ferrante’s book of the same name tackles an ambivalence to motherhood and young motherhood in an enlightening, if bleak, fashion. Still, the movie can really get at what a lot of mothers may feel, but rarely express — that motherhood is hard and messy.
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‘Terms of Endearment’
Terms of Endearment dives deep into the struggle of having several kids back-to-back with a partner who is less than supportive. Adding to the family dynamic is a mother who doesn’t approve because the husband will never be good enough for her baby.
Women always strive to do everything and do their best, but there are days we fail as mothers and grandmothers. Honestly, that is OK, because striving to be perfect isn’t a fun place to be either. We are all in the same boat.
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‘Daughters of the Dust’
Celebrated for its beautifully lyrical storytelling of Gullah culture, Daughters of the Dust spans across generations of women. Directed by Julie Dash, the film is a meditation on tradition and one’s roots. At the heart of the film are women who try to hold onto everything they can in this moving and whimsical film.
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‘The Joy Luck Club’
“I want to understand my mother, I really try. In so many ways, she’s been a stranger to me. I guess she always will be.”
That quote from the 1993 film is the basis of two generations of women who come from contemporary and traditional cultures. Many first-generation Americans can relate to the idea that there is sometimes a familial battle between old and new traditions. All of the Chinese mothers in the film have high hopes for their daughters’ success now that the families have immigrated to the United States, but there is some sorrow in losing some of their Chinese cultural heritage because their daughters were born Americans.
A big part of motherhood often means carrying on traditions from generation to generation. When that role straddles two different countries and two different cultures, The Joy Luck Club shows the struggles and successes of marrying those two conflicting views. Mothers and daughters might not always get it right, but they can develop a deep understanding of each other along the way.
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‘Spanglish’
“Is what you want for yourself to become someone very different than me?”
That’s the big question in the 2004 movie Spanglish. There are so many different styles of parenting, but the truth is that we all want the best life possible for our kids. Our desires often overshadow the needs of our kids, though. Our dreams may be different than their dreams, and that is where rebellion drives a big wedge between generations of mothers and their kids.
Spanglish shows that if we take a step back from our lives and analyze how we are functioning as a family, we might see that we’re doing too much. Letting our kids be themselves and keeping them healthy and happy is more rooted in simplicity than creating a magazine-ready life.
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‘Life As We Know It’
Katherine Heigl and Josh Duhamel’s characters certainly didn’t plan to be parents together, but the rough road they faced in raising their friends’ child under sad circumstances is still real. As mothers, how do we give a child the best life possible, even if we aren’t emotionally ready?
That’s the learning curve we all face because motherhood is a great equalizer. We are all on the same playing field with our first kid. So, we need to go easier on first-time parents — we’ve all been there, made mistakes and then relished our triumphs.
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‘The Kids Are All Right’
2010’s beloved The Kids Are All Right features Annette Bening and Julianne Moore as moms raising their two children, played by Josh Hutcherson and Mia Wasikowska. Circumstances get complicated when Nic (Bening) and Jules’ (Moore) sperm donor, Paul (Mark Ruffalo), wants to be an active part of the kids’ lives.
The domestic drama not only features strong performances from its ensemble, but also paints a portrait of a family, and two moms, going through a period of change and trying to make sense of what comes next.
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’20th Century Women’
Another Annette Bening vehicle, 20th Century Women stars the Oscar-nominated actress as she raises her young son with the help of Abbie (Greta Gerwig) and Julie (Elle Fanning) in 1979 Southern California. Each woman has a different impact on Jamie’s life, but it’s the ruminations on motherhood and observations on men’s roles in women’s lives that really pack an emotional punch.
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‘Lion’
2016’s Lion really gets at two very different stories of motherhood. At the forefront is Sue Brierley’s (Nicole Kidman). Kidman’s Oscar-nominated performance keeps the heart of this film beating, and her monologue to Saroo (Dev Patel) on why she chose to adopt children instead of having her own won’t leave one dry eye.
Then, there’s Saroo’s long journey to find his biological mother back in India. The core of this film is really all about mothers, our connection to them, and how they embody home.
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‘Lady Bird’
This Oscar-nominated film revealed that a mother-daughter relationship is extremely complicated, especially during the teen years. The rush to grow up and go as far away from home as possible to seek independence is exactly what Lady Bird (Saoirse Ronan) desires.
Her equally strong-willed mother (Laurie Metcalf) does her best to hold her daughter back because she wants her to stay close to home and close to her heart. Many viewers can no doubt relate to the battle between the two women — your mother can be your most challenging friend during the teen years. Once you leave the nest, however, you may feel that there’s no friend better than your mom.
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‘Tully’
Most women will tell you that motherhood is the most rewarding job they’ve ever had — and the hardest job they’ve ever tackled. Charlize Theron’s movie, Tully, takes on the challenges of being a mom in a surprisingly frank and honest way. Instead of sugarcoating the experience, Tully showed us that it’s OK to own the hard parts of raising kids as well.
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‘Miss Juneteenth’
Nicole Beharie’s performance in Miss Juneteenth will undoubtedly resonate with moms who watch the Channing Godfrey Peoples film. Turquoise wants the absolute best for her daughter, Kai (Alexis Chikaeze), even to the point where the single mom has her daughter do the same pageant she won years ago with the hopes of winning a scholarship to college. But as a single working mom, the pressures Turquoise faces are far more intense than her daughter might see. It’s a touching tale of two women coming together, the dreams that were never realized, and the hopes instilled in children.