New weapon unlocked: Carrot
The USA stands for stocks, but it is also easy to come across such films by browsing through the catalog of German, French or Korean productions. In our country, genre cinema is still a small niche that experienced directors, young filmmakers and, above all, producers are afraid to reach for, seeing no potential for huge profits. Fortunately, streaming platforms leave the door open to interesting and unusual ideas, so it’s not surprising that the latest representative of Polish action cinema debuted not in cinemas, but on Netflix. Mother’s Day seemingly has everything to become our native John Wick or Atomic Blonde, but it is a film that at the same time has to be forgiven a lot to have fun with it.
Nina Nowak (Agnieszka Grochowska) is a retired agent who spends her days deepening her alcoholism, interrupting it by reheating ready-made food in the microwave and occasionally rescuing damsels in distress from trackers outside the local store. However, the woman has one more job – secretly taking care of her teenage son Maks (Adrian Delikta), who currently lives with foster parents. When the boy is kidnapped by gangsters, Nina embarks on another mission to take blood revenge and save her child. She is helped by Igor (Dariusz Chojnacki), an old friend and member of the agency to which Nina once belonged.
Mother’s Day has something of the first John Wick in it from the very beginning. Before the popular killer played by Keanu Reeves developed a taste for neon colors and antique set designs, acting both in the light of the rising sun and the night darkness illuminated only by street lamps, he was the hero of a raw, sterile, even boring from the perspective of subsequent parts, colorless style, in which in the first place was put not eye-catching, contrasting colors, but a dark, serious style. It is similar in the film by Mateusz Rakowicz, who gives his film a characteristic, stylized visual filter. The director already in “Najmro. He loves, steals, respects” proved that he has a talent for visually distinguishing his film from other Polish productions. It is no different in Mother’s Day, although the constant darkness, depressive atmosphere and the ubiquitous dirt of the underground underworld surrounding the heroes will not appeal to everyone.
-The fight scenes between Nina and her opponents are definitely not a contentious issue. Rakowicz seems to understand why John Wick, Nobody, Raid or Atomic Blonde have been so successful and he tries to realize it in Poland. It doesn’t always come out delightful, but the action scenes clearly inspired by Chad Stahelski’s series make Mother’s Day want to watch until the end. It is true that there is no showiness, dynamics and ingenuity here, as in John Wick, but Rakowicz really has nothing to be ashamed of. Already the first action scene is very promising, and soon after comes another, absolutely phenomenal, taking place in the kitchen, where the creators do not spare long shots, demanding choreography for the actors and a truly surprising use of carrots. Action movies are watched for scenes like this, and this aspect is more than just satisfying.
Tags: Mothers Day movie review Opinion rating Pros cons Mateusz Rakowicz Vin Diesel Agnieszka Grochowska Netflix
