A real movie about real people, My Mother’s Wedding is a welcome return to traditional filmmaking . . . mostly.  This is a new release, although it was made three years ago and appeared in a 2023 film festival.  It is the kind of movie that used to be made in the 1940s, yet updated with more modern relationships and rougher language and twists that modern audiences seem to expect.  Oddly enough, it also reflects my wife’s side of the family.  Her mother married for the third time a few years ago, bringing her three daughters and their families together in celebration.  But our family is not nearly as dramatic as the Frost / Munson / Loveglove clan.

Kristin Scott Thomas’ movie centers on the three daughters of Diana (Kristin Scott Thomas), who is about to wed for the third time.  The daughters are Navy captain Katherine (Scarlett Johansson), actress Victoria (Sienna Miller) and housewife Georgina (Emily Beecham), and all of them are going through issues which threaten to derail their mother’s nuptials.  Other arrivals, some welcome, some not, complicate matters even further, but the relationships are key, and by the conclusion of this story everyone’s laundry, clean or dirty, will be revealed.

I had trouble at the beginning because nothing was defined, and I could not tell who belonged to who, especially involving kids.  Because everyone seems to be harboring secrets, or at least ignoring their personal issues, it was difficult for me to care very much about these women.  Eventually the script, co-written by star and director Kristin Scott Thomas and John Micklethwait, solves these issues and brings the sisters and their mother together in conflict and in unity, but it takes a while to get to its comfort zone.  And to its credit, the film remains aloof on some things.  I honestly didn’t know how Georgina was going to react to her husband’s situation, and I actually guessed incorrectly how it would turn.  Some viewers may not care for Katherine’s situation because it is more modern rather than traditional.  And Victoria’s situation is simply weird, more artificial than believable, at least involving the French guy who adores her.

It’s a messy movie, which I suppose aptly reflects life in its infinite variety.  Some moments and situations have real gravitas and power; others not so much.  I applaud the story for confronting the reality of older people looking for comfort and stability, while maintaining respect and nostalgia for the past.  This is something I have seen in my own life quite recently and was happy to see expressed very well in this movie.  Ultimately this story is about coming to terms with the past and with the possibilities of the future, and being ready for anything and everything.  ☆ ☆ 1/2.  10 August 2025.