Bobby and Helen's son Rosie Michell as Rosie, Bobby and Helen's daughter Production Anne Reid revealed that she was so anxious at the prospect of filming sex scenes with Daniel Craig that on the night before the scenes were to be filmed, she got drunk and then burst into tears. Said Reid, "I rang my son and I was weeping and he said, ‘Look Mum, it’s a great part, if you’re inhibited it’s not going to work so just go for it'". Critical reception On review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes, The Mother has a "Certified Fresh" score of 78% based on 91 reviews. The site's critics consensus reads, "Reid gives a fearless, realistic performance in depicting an older woman's sexual blossoming." On Metacritic, the film has a score of 72 based on 27 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Stephen Holden of The New York Times called Reid "achingly believable" and said Craig brings an "undertone of volatile macho arrogance seething below a cultivated surface." Holden opined The Mother is better than Roger Michell's two best-known films, Notting Hill and Changing Lanes, and that "screenwriter Hanif Kureishi's even-handed view of the characters' frustrations and fantasies is infused with an unwavering Chekhovian compassion." With its centering on an older woman and a younger man, the film also received comparisons to Rainer Werner Fassbinder's Ali: Fear Eats the Soul. Critic Roger Ebert gave the film 3 1/2 stars out of four and praised the performances of Reid, Craig, and Bradshaw. He concluded, "By the end, 'The Mother' has told us all we need to know about the characters, except how to feel about them. It shows how people play a role and grow comfortable with it, and how that role is confused with the real person inside. And then it shows the person inside, frightened and pitiful and fighting for survival. I have a lot of questions about what happens in this movie. I am intended to." Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian was more critical. Though he lauded Reid and Craig's performances as well as the film's opening sequence, he called the film a "contrived and self-important drama." The film's third act was also criticized as descending into melodrama. Filmmaker John Waters named the film one of the 10 best films of 2004. Awards and honours Wins 2004 London Critics Circle Film Awards ALFS Award - Anne Reid Nominations 2004 BAFTA Awards BAFTA