Mother, Couch (2024)

The members of a dysfunctional family find themselves trapped in an antiquated furniture store when their elderly matriarch (Ellen Burstyn) suddenly refuses to get up from one of the display couches. Reluctantly assembled, her three adult children (Ewan McGregor,, Rhys Ifans, Lara Flynn Boyle) must figure out how to escape this bizarre predicament. Based on the novel MAMMA I SOFFA by Jerker Virdborg and directed by Niclas Larsson in his feature film debut. A bizarre film that unsuccessfully treads the line between realism and surrealism. After setting us up for a incisive look at a fragile and fragmented family, the movie cops out and takes us for a surrealistic journey that's nonsensical, leaving us scratching our heads. With one exception, the actors can't seem to get a grasp on what they're supposed to be doing. The one exception is Ellen Burstyn who brings a chilly tartness to her unloving mother, who never wanted her three kids (all with different fathers) in the first place! It's a frustrating film with an interesting premise that somehow lost its way. But at least it's trying something different instead of giving us the same old. With F. Murray Abraham, Lake Bell and Taylor Russell.