The Second Mother
Oscilloscope Pictures | Release Date: August 28, 2015 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
82
METASCORE
Universal acclaim based on 26 Critic Reviews
Positive:
25
Mixed:
1
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternAug 27, 2015
Ms. Muylaert’s guiding principle seems to have been fearlessness, and her film, which was shot by Barbara Alvarez, is superb on all counts. Read full review
100
Village VoiceAmy NicholsonAug 18, 2015
As we switch sympathies from scene to scene, Muylaert forces us to think big about the clash between idealism and acceptance, a philosophical war that spills beyond the walls of this small story into every corner of our own lives. Read full review
100
CineVueLucy PopescuAug 18, 2015
This brilliant, beautifully observed comedy is a joy to watch throughout. The Second Mother's narrative works on so many levels, reflected in the film's ambiguous title, and the characterisation is flawless. Read full review
100
The Hollywood ReporterBoyd van HoeijAug 18, 2015
Muylaert does a deft job here of plotting her story and setting up her characters and their predicaments in ways that immediately invite reflection. Read full review
91
Entertainment WeeklyDevan CogganSep 2, 2015
This Brazilian drama offers a nuanced, often funny look at family and social status, and Casé’s performance is both heartbreaking and hilarious. Read full review
91
The PlaylistNikola GrozdanovicSep 1, 2015
Ultimately, the main source of power behind The Second Mother is found in its effortless skips between character study, family drama, and silent socioeconomic warfare. The final result is a gleaming cinematic treasure as heartwarming as the film's final reassuring smile. Read full review
90
SlateDana StevensSep 3, 2015
The Second Mother has the texture of lived experience, with characters who aren’t political symbols or social archetypes but struggling, flawed people trying their best to lead decent lives and pave a path to happiness for their children. Read full review
90
Screen DailyDan FainaruAug 19, 2015
Touching, funny, perceptive and simple enough to carry large audiences, The Second Mother is carried throughout by a hilarious, intelligent and soulful performance from veteran Brazilian actress, comedian and TV host Regina Case, surrounded by a solid supporting cast. Read full review
90
VarietyGeoff BerkshireAug 18, 2015
The script is executed with enough naturalism to ward off complaints of contrivance — all the way up to a tidy, but quite satisfying, denouement. Read full review
88
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsOct 2, 2015
Muylaert's picture relates to many other South American domestic comedies pitting "the help" against the economic overlords, but this one has the grace to humanize everyone on screen. The results are both smart and curious. Read full review
88
Washington PostStephanie MerrySep 24, 2015
The Second Mother feels lovingly handcrafted. All the elements of the story fit impeccably together for a humorous and occasionally wrenching examination of relationships. Read full review
88
Boston GlobePeter KeoughSep 17, 2015
A kitchen, a guestroom, and swimming pool become battlegrounds. Though hardly revolutionary, “Mother” subverts conventions — both cinematic and social. Read full review
80
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzSep 10, 2015
Muylaert goes for answers and, at times, they may come a little easily for all of the turmoil that leads to them.... But Casé’s performance overwhelms any such quibbles. She is a delight, and thanks in large part to her performance, so is The Second Mother. Read full review
80
New York Magazine (Vulture)Bilge EbiriSep 7, 2015
It’s a drama, and it smartly uses its little moments of humiliation to open our eyes to a world of delicate, but deep, injustice. Read full review
80
Time Out LondonDave CalhounSep 1, 2015
Writer-director Anna Muylaert’s observations on family relations and invisible-but-firm class barriers are always acute. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesKenneth TuranAug 27, 2015
The Second Mother is a satisfying contradiction. It's a soap opera with a social conscience that casually mixes dramatic elements about serious class issues with a crowd-pleasing audience picture sensibility. Read full review
75
Portland OregonianMarc MohanSep 11, 2015
The performances, especially that of Regina Casé in the lead role, inject potent, lived-in humanity to the movie's flat political allegory. Read full review
75
Philadelphia InquirerMolly EichelSep 10, 2015
The Second Mother is an interesting look at generational and class divides in Brazil, without the feel of a lecture or lesson. Read full review
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Julian CarringtonSep 3, 2015
Muylaert’s is attuned to matters of social stratification and economic mobility, and the manner in which Brazil’s leisure class is propped up by the undervalued exertions of domestic labourers. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleSteve RubensteinSep 3, 2015
The whole thing is held together by the nuanced and natural performance of the amazing Regina Casé, the veteran Brazilian comedian and TV host, who can switch her look at a moment’s notice from cherub to aggrieved saint to basset hound. Read full review
75
RogerEbert.comGlenn KennyAug 28, 2015
A domestic comedy-drama that starts off from a fairly pat premise but builds strength over the course of its careful, empathetic, and crafty unpeeling of its characters. Read full review
75
New York PostFarran Smith NehmeAug 26, 2015
Brazilian director Anna Muylaert’s deft, funny film is set in São Paulo, but the class distinctions shown have no borders. Read full review
67
Christian Science MonitorPeter RainerAug 28, 2015
The film’s wrap-up, in which Jessica reveals some family secrets of her own, seems too engineered, too pat. Muylaert doesn’t do justice to the potential complexities of her premise. The film ends on a note of forced sunniness, but the outlook actually looks more like cloudy with a chance of showers. Read full review
67
The A.V. ClubMike D'AngeloAug 26, 2015
There’s a rah-rah element to The Second Mother that undermines its sociological ambition. Read full review
63
Slant MagazineClayton DillardAug 22, 2015
Character relations are hinted at and even primed for confrontation, but without payoff or meaningful conclusion. Read full review
60
The New York TimesBen KenigsbergAug 27, 2015
The Second Mother goes soft toward the end, defusing its conflicts too easily and inconsequentially. Read full review
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