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  • kosmasp16 September 2015
    If people say and tell you this is inspiring, they are not wrong. Based on real events, this is really gripping and without knowing where this was heading (hadn't read anything about it, before I watched it), I really was surprised after about 30 minutes into the film. After that it was kind of obvious where it would go, but the acting and the telling of the story is really good.

    Not to mention the central performances. Even if towards the end you get a bit of a "cliche" speech, you'd have to have a heart of stone, not to be touched by it at all. You could also argue about the husband and what he decides to do and how things get "solved", but after all that happened, it seems to be a suiting ending to it all
  • Warning: Spoilers
    Richard Curtis has a great track record of writing amusing, often hilarious films which all have some sort of hidden message. "Four Weddings and a Funeral" was ultimately about the value of tolerance. "Notting Hill" about how deep down, however famous we might be, we are ultimately human and vulnerable. "Love Actually" was about the power and risks and torments and delights of love. Curtis's lightness of touch has always belied an inner seriousness.

    "Mary and Martha" is a much more serious film (albeit with some lighter moments) about two women brought together by tragedy - the losses of their sons to Malaria. They are utterly different. They differ by age, nationality, background, lifestyle - everything. And yet they find a common cause in their campaign to get more funding from the West, specifically the US, to fight the scourge of malaria in Africa.

    There is an element of documentary about the film - it certainly aims to inform us about the disease the assumption being (rightly in my case) that we are unaware (A) How much of a problem it is and (B)That something CAN be done about it.

    But notwithstanding the educational element of the movie the story line is strong and believable. We see the waste of two young western lives contrasted with the waste on a massive scale as thousands of children fall to Malaria every day. And all for the want of a net to put over their beds and drugs to treat them.

    Mary and Martha prick the consciences of American legislators by delivering a powerful and emotional message to a Congressional committee. The story is empowering because it says if we have the determination to succeed then minds really can be changed if the cause is just.
  • Warning: Spoilers
    It's propaganda in a good cause, I suppose, but propaganda nonetheless. I was surprised to see, as the ending credits rolled by, no mention of the Bill And Melinda Gates Foundation as sponsors. The story is propelled by some poorly-handled plot devices, e.g., bullying, which goes nowhere but seems to be the motive for mother and son decamping for exotic Africa, and by some unforgivable lapses like the couple not getting their "shots" before landing in a country where Malaria is a clear and present danger. For travel anywhere outside the developed world, I think immunizations are still highly recommended. Malaria as a political issue, and the wall-to-wall corruption that enables it to flourish, goes entirely unmentioned in the film. The first thing I saw in it that convinced me that it isn't an entirely straightforward story was the presentation of the older white malaria victim, the son of Brenda Blethyn's character. This young man is simply too wonderful to serve as anything but a straw man for the film's message. He's funny, athletic, gorgeous, generous and unselfish, all qualities dramatized in the first 8 minutes of the film, so obviously he has to die but quick. The story obliges by having him volunteer to teach in Mozambique, where in another 4 minutes he adopts an entire orphanage, gives away all his drugs and dies horribly of malaria, thus supplying us with Martha, his mother, who becomes an assistant to Hillary Swank's Mary in her campaign against the disease. If you can stand being bludgeoned by objects as blunt as these, the acting is good, the male characters (husbands and sons) are dealt with sympathetically, the scenery is fascinating and the film is at least watchable. BTW-for the unenlightened, Didier Drogba is a striker on the Ivory Coast national soccer team.
  • Warning: Spoilers
    Mr Richard Curtis is a very nice man.I say that in the full knowledge that I have never met him although I saw him one evening last year in a restaurant in Walberswick with his daughter looking like someone who desperately does not want to be recognised. He has written "Mary and Martha" for "Red Nose Day",which he instigated many years ago and which has made millions for Good Causes all round the world. It concerns malaria which apparently kills half a million children every year,an appalling statistic. Equally appalling is the alleged indifference of the so - called Developed World until two nice middle class white children are killed,and slowly,ever - so - slowly,it sits up and takes notice of this unacceptable state of affairs.That is the gist of Mr Curtis's film. It features Miss B.Blethyn - one of the least "actressy" of English actresses and Miss H.Swank,the sort of woman you would like beside you in a foxhole facing The Hun(no offence). Both have lost their sons to malaria - one of the more easily (and cheaply) preventable of the many diseases that curse Africa. These two formidable women team up and present evidence to a Senate Appropriations Committee in order to draw more attention to the plight of hundreds of thousands of African children. That - in essence - is "Mary and Martha".An achingly sincere portrait of loss and the need to make some sense out of the apparently senseless. That it fails to tell the whole story makes it even more tragic. Aid from the West is often looked upon(not by those who need it,mind you)as a continuation of Colonialism by other means and opposed on Political Grounds. Several people I know who have been to Africa working for N.G.O.s have found themselves marginalised and actually obstructed by officials with their own agenda. I fear it is not quite the "Rainbow Nation" Mr Mandela visualised and Mr Curtis has presented. Having said that,"Mary and Martha" is a considerable achievement that he should be proud of and if I ever bump into him in Walberswick again I hope he won't mind if I tell him so.
  • petarmatic18 October 2013
    It is always sad to watch parents loose their children. Every child is so precious that when a parent looses its own child that parent is finished. It gives that parent a mission in life, which in the most cases is fruitless one, in this film may be it is not so fruitless.

    I do not believe in the African countries. Most of those states are failed states. They do not have any chance of survival, and people in many of those countries are doomed. It is a real life risk for the white people to go there, my father almost lost his head going to Zaire on business. When Mobutu Sese Seko fled the country they devastated his compound to the ground. The guards and workers, who lived decent lives during those years are now barley surviving. I would never go to Africa unless you want to have a personal tragedy like this one.
  • I don't like when George said he didn't like Mandela T-Shirt. Mandela T-shirt is from Indonesia, one of world heritage. We should respect it. The script should edited. The part which vote didier drogba more popular than Mandela is very terrible.. Good scene in Africa and good adventure. Mary and Martha tell us something to do more for world. About bullying, the film didn't explain more. The part when Martha losing his son didn't tell to us clearly.. Why Mary didn't bring George to nearest hospital? if she bring to the nearest hospital, George will survived. Her husband is very wise, he can understand and try to keep his wife calm.. i like this movie, bring inspiration to us.. how malaria can kill many people. overall good stories.
  • joelthorpe16 March 2013
    This film was truly inspiring. It really changed my view on malaria, and really put into perspective how my life differs to others. Poor children are dying because of this horrible disease, and this film captures the awareness brilliantly. We are truly lucky to have live the lives we live, and this film proves that. I now put myself in others shoes before I react upon occurrences in my own life. Also, it meant a lot to me, because my mum knows "Ben's" mum, in real life. So having the thought in the back of my mind, that this story is true, really strengthens the realism. Yes, it makes it more sad, but all the more inspiring. The film is so well put together, and really thumps you with a whirlwind of emotion and sympathy. A very sad, but brilliant film. A must watch.
  • I watched this last night and am still thinking about it right now, all the time. The movie is to raise awareness of malaria, which kills children by the dozen each year. The film is extremely touching. It presents a strong mother-son bond for both Mary and George, and Martha and Ben. When tragedy strikes, it is presented in such a way only someone with a heart of stone would not be moved. The acting is of a high-quality -- you can feel exactly what the characters are feeling. Mary's speech towards the end is touching and moving; it gave me goosebumps and produced fresh tears in my eyes. Overall a brilliant film, I would definitely watch it again.
  • Warning: Spoilers
    This story of mothers fighting for a cause is both inspiring and informing the audience on the real problems that face out current world whether we are aware of them. Mary (Hilary Swank) brings her son to Africa at the same time as Martha's (Brenda Blethyn) son Ben comes to be a teacher to young kids in the country. Both women lose their sons to Malaria and when Mary comes back after the lose she meets Martha and the women come together while in different continents to bring more help to the issues of Malaria in the world. The story was inspiring especially when seeing this women be in great grief but trying to fight to make a difference especially the character of Mary who really was the main character of the film and when the scenes were showed of her son dying of the terrible it very emotional in both how it was directing, written and acted by Hilary Swank. Hilary Swank is a great film actress but lately she has seem to have taken a break from any film worthy of her talents but with her role as Mary I believe it may be a return to form. From her reaction to her son George's death to her final speech in front of some government people. Throughout she is asked to not show her emotions even when she addresses it at the funeral of her son where she does not cry. Brenda Blethyn plays Martha and she is just as impressive as Swank while she appears in less of the movie. Her emotions are all over her face and it was very well played by Blethyn. The film was strong written, directed and acted by it's stars Swank and Blethyn that it was a great movie.

    MOVIE GRADE: B+ (MVP: Hilary Swank)
  • Warning: Spoilers
    Joined together by tragedy, two strong-willed women join forces to lobby for more aid regarding malaria.

    They bond after both their sons succumb to the disease while in the African continent.

    The two couldn't have been more different. Hilary Swank plays a well-to-do mother who takes a 6 month sabbatical to take her son to Africa. The very plain Blenda Blethyn loses her son when he goes to the African continent for a teaching position in Mozambique.

    Swank's marriage seems to becoming apart before her husband, the latter also well played, realizes the value of what is wife is trying to accomplish. That didn't appear to be the case for Blethyn's mate.

    James Woods briefly appears as Swank's father, a Conservative man who goes the distance to aid his daughter in her quest.

    A wonderfully done film, sad but quite inspirational.
  • Warning: Spoilers
    First...NO WESTERNER would EVER leave their respective countries to travel to anywhere in Africa without Malaria medication in the 21st century--especially a child. The scenario that the writer and director presented was false. Plus, one does not get the symptoms of Malaria two days after they have been bit by a mosquito.

    Second...why do we need to showcase two white people who lives have been turned upside down because of malaria to make people realize that the African people are neglected? Why couldn't the story be a black teacher who may be a "professional" makes very little money that he even can't pay for medical care for his wife who has malaria? This would be more meaningful and more true. When I was in Africa, I met a teacher who could not come to work because his wife was sick with Malaria. Hence...he could not come in to teach because he needed to take care of his sick wife and could not earn his salary because he had to be home.

    Regardless of how ridiculous I thought the premise of the story is, African people need help. They are so impoverished and have very little to be able to take care of their families. We send aid over to many African countries and the money is sucked up by corrupt politicians and top business leaders, leaving next to nothing for the people. If the African people receive 1 percent of the money we give the government for programs, I would say they would be lucky.
  • I thought this was a great movie. Too many critics out there. Watch it and feel good about sad things that happen in the world. Maybe it's a bit far fetched but then again, we can all make a difference in this world, you just have to want to do it.
  • We waste so much time worrying about such trivial things that aren't worth worrying about. Things that don't really matter. Our fancy cars. Our nails getting done. Our hair getting done. All while serious issues like scores of children dying from malaria in the real world. That's Reality. And this movie is emotional. The entire 2nd half of the movie was seen through tears. Sad tears. And triumphant tears.
  • Warning: Spoilers
    Something tells me that if you are a middle-upper class white woman in her 30s to 60s, you will find this movie spell binding, informative, and touching.

    I am none of those demographics, and saw the movie as typical "Africa is a country that needs our help" plea.

    I need to offer no spoilers; the movie, was every bit unsurprising and clichéd as anticipated. Hilary Swank plays an nonredeemable negligent mother named Mary, who, stupidly takes her son to South Africa without doing...perhaps a quick google search? The Black Mambazo joke, the "does he have the flu," the all around idiocy on her character's part is NOT what any "regular" mother would do, and hence her endless boo-hooing and selfish behavior leaves no empathy. I'm supposed to give her a pulitzer because she ends up losing her son to a disease that kills people on a good portion of the African Continent??? Martha, is only mildly more redeeming. Whether I should feel sympathy for her, I don't know. She's just a whiny ole British woman with the voice of a stereotypical whiny old British woman. behaving like a whiny old British woman. Yeah her son was stupid himself, being such a wonderful white person giving away his medicine (oh how I wish we were all like that!), like everyone in this movie, he ended up dying trying to help those "poor Africans." He just wanted to take pictures!! Poor baby! The strength they find in each other, is giving themselves more credit than they deserve. They "find strength" also helping these destitute, helpless people, who seem to just always be helpless and destitute.

    Talk about Naivete. Apparently the only thing white people seem to be portrayed as in this movie are "unsung heroes of the African cause." That apparently, only people listen to nicely dressed white people when it comes to the plight of issues on the African Continent. If, you really think you "learned something" about Malaria, you have no clue. Its a disease that isn't in your country because, well, you aren't disenfranchised or poor. Its really that simple, and they don't acknowledge that in the least. You really think, the governments don't know? You really think its a matter of knowledge? It isn't. Its people who can't afford the bare necessities, because of a long trend of being disenfranchised and indebted, then ignored.

    And then she has the nerve to pretend she knows what the natives were going through?? Um, honey, you live in a pretty house in a pretty suburb, eat three meals a day, and if ish hits the fan, you get on a plane and leave. You have a giant memorial for your son, filled with what looked like every extra from every movie ever, the little whiny girl from X Factor, and spiffy new LBDs. And YOU know what someone who is living on a $1 a day is going through????? You know, I will re neg on my glaring Character reference. Hilary Swank DID play a very GOOD annoying, ungrateful mother. She had me convinced.
  • How thick is the crust around your heart? Are you cold and tough as nails? Do you brag and boast about how you never feel anything watching a movie? They don't "affect" you?? Here's a dare. Go on this journey with Mary and Martha. See if you can get half way in without "FEELING" anything. I bet you can't! I'll bet you you go all the way to the credits with them! I'll even wager that 'emotion' thing you've been denying existed pulls the moisture from your eyes and fills your heart with compassion!! I can't lose this gamble and your entire family will be winners for watching!
  • Read the other reviews if interested in plot. The persons involved in creating this film may have had great motivation. The time & talents of Swank & Bletheyn are wasted. The dialogue is lame :"Is you husband cute? I think so." Who says stuff like that?The relationships seem false. The scenes with medical personnel are laughable. The scenery is interesting. I could not watch the entire film- it was aggravating.
  • Warning: Spoilers
    The premise is not well thought out. I like Hillary Swank but not her character. The film is propaganda for malaria in Africa. We're meant to feel sorry for an American mother (Hillary Swank) who pulls her kid out of school and decides to take him to a third world country so she can consider herself a cool mom. She decides to do this not caring what her husband or her son wants. Which is really selfish and irresponsible. So then her kid gets malaria and dies. When she takes him to the hospital she tells the doctor hes demonstrated symptoms for three days, but she waited until then to rush him to the hospital, because she thought he had the flu. Even know their in Africa where malaria is a big epidemic. Mary (Hillary Swank) demonstrates shes not very intelligent. At the funeral she asks her husband to tell other people not to cry because it bothers her. To a logical person who makes intelligent decisions Mary is a very unlikable character. She left me scratching my head and feeling annoyed. Who ever wrote this script didn't really think this through.
  • Warning: Spoilers
    Little George (Lux Haney-Jardin) is getting bullied at school and when Mary, his mother(Hilary Swank) finds out, she decides to take him on vacation to the beautiful landscapes of South Africa in a bid to escape suburban life for a while. During their stay in a touristic village not far from the South African capital of Cape Town, Everything is going great until one night when little George is bitten by a mosquito hence infecting him with malaria, the deadliest disease in the world. He subsequently dies on the hospital bed three days later.

    A few Miles out of the country, Ben (Sam Claflin) has been assigned in Mozambique to teach English at a local primary school. There he meets beautiful Micaela (Nokuthula Ledwaba) with whom he falls in love. Their romance doesn't last because Ben too suffers the same fate as little George, one fatal mosquito bite takes his life.

    The movie follows the lives of two mothers, Mary and Martha (Brenda Blethyn) the latter whose story is analogous to Mary's- brought together by the tragic loss of their sons to Malaria. Their bond quickly grows strong as they relate to each other's tragedy.

    Well, this is a nice plot for an inspirational movie but unfortunately it was not that inspirational to me. Why? because although the movie runs 90 minutes, everything happened too quickly I mean events just flashed before our eyes as if in fast forward and to me that just took away the connection i was supposed to have with the characters and the story itself. It's almost as if you were watching the trailer; they summarized everything so dully. Not to mention the fact that we didn't get the chance to understand and connect with the victims (Ben & George) better in order to care enough for them. Ben and Micaela's budding romance isn't supplemented at all either.

    Aside from the cheesy storyline, there's something else that doesn't work for this movie. That thing is the fact that, neither Mary nor Martha would have cared a minute for the millions of kids dying in Africa from Malaria had it not been for the death of their own. This means, i presume, that for the white community to care for third world countries something tragic must happen to one of their own first. Would Mary have fought so hard for the senator's attention if that mosquito had never bit George? Surely not, but I'm certain she was already aware of malaria's evil deeds on the African Continent. But the film is of humanitarian aspirations so..it doesn't matter really.

    This movie, however, does stay true & genuine to its cause and Hilary Swank does a great job in her acting; her eyes are wet with lingering tears throughout the movie and her performance is quite believable. Brenda Blethyn (Martha)'s performance is average "Mom behavior" that any mother would have enough inspiration to deliver. The whole idea of "Mary and Martha" is great but it just doesn't have that spark you know, it does get really sad at times but it just lacks that warm atmosphere that you find in movies like Schindler's List, Pursuit of Happiness or Savior.

    In conclusion, this is the kind of movie that will gain praise from moms all over the world because let's be honest, what is worse than losing your child? More so if you're partly responsible?

    It hasn't worked for me, alas, but...what the hell, my mother loved it.
  • Talking about matters like bullying and malaria is very important, but the execution is poor. "Is your husband cute?" "He must be, or you wouldn't have married him." What kind of dialogue is that? First, beauty is subjective, and people marry each other for a combination of factors. Anyway, this conversation did not sit well in the movie. How about the fact that the mother takes her child to another country and when he says Mandela's t-shirt is weird she doesn't correct him? I mean, you are free to have your likes and dislikes, but ever wondered why such a kid has that opinion? Culture. She should have explained to him that what is strange for him is normal and cool for other people. She could have told him beauty and wonders come in so many shapes, colors and sizes. "Oh they will like to see you because you are prettier than me." In a movie with such a serious theme characters seem to be too shallow. Women should not compete. Again the simplistic idea that beauty is objective. And again, characters seem so worried about looks and things that are secondary. The movie tries poorly to talk about important matters with an immature and shallow rhetoric. Can we stop caring about how people look for one second? And as others said, we don't know characters enough to like them and Mary is very selfish for not caring what her husband or son wants. And why was she offended by others crying? I don't get it. Maybe they should laugh? At a funeral??? And yes, the story would be a lot better if told from the point of view of a native. The cast is good. The movie not so much. It doesn't touch us. I watched the movie in another language, so exact words might not be accurate but the idea is the same.
  • I like to believe that neither movie viewing nor reviewing should be excessive..; and ideally.. by living a disciplined life that is spiritually unfettered by name-brand fashion wear and/or speciality breads from French bakeries.., one can, with restraint and the beatific blessing of "The Universe" ride a perpetual wave of beautiful, magical synchronicity, where one can watch their personal life mirrored in the movies one sees. Simply put.., there MUST be rewards for walking the way of the peasant. To wit.....

    Though my own departure from mafia life was in fact quite cordial (and we remain on good terms), Wonder Wheel, for example, (my previously viewed movie) did accurately reflect both my unhealthy attraction to dangerous men, as well as my inexplicable semi-loyalty to my husband, who was, in fact, also a carny who operated a merry-go-round back in the day -- well, ok, it was actually a used car lot.., but the similarities were uncanny. Thus (keep your eye on the Queen).., mid viewing of Mary And Martha, I was not surprised to see that the plot was largely about malaria.., in that only a few days earlier, I was told (in the bread aisle) that my ex-pastor's daughter (a missionary to Africa) had contracted and struggled precariously with malaria for several weeks. This happens all the time, is normal for me, and the main reason why I've never watched Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

    Now.., if one wants to believe that this film is merely a plaintive cry against malaria, that's fine.., in which case it did a pretty great job..; and thus, if one so chooses, they/you can dig out your checkbook, and send a donation to some vague, off-shore, corporate charity, possibly concocted by the same vague Illuminati overlords, who both probably financed this film.. and brought us, for example, the World Wildlife Fund and its ever-lovable founder, Prince Philip, a swell monarch, and the single most prolific slayer of endangered African species this side of the Temple Bar.

    In other words.., imho, like most (Hollywood) movies of recent decades, Mary and Martha was more propaganda than plot, more indoctrination about obsoleting inter-gender relationships than soliciting empathy over third-world diseases. While superficially about malaria-related deaths in Africa, it seemed clear to me early on.. that Mary and Martha was basically just another hit piece against males.. drowning us in a mist of firebrand rhetoric aimed at "liberating" women even further from (white) male oppression -- eloquently providing more and more rationalizations for downgrading a wife's role in marriage to a take-it-or-leave-it pastime, bidding her to drift whichever way the wind blows, and poetically claiming responsibility for whatever strums her heart strings, while scorning her obviously supercilious and demeaning role as wife.. as well as her tedious and tunnel-visioned husband, who selfishly sees his function as merely working doggedly.. (to put specialty breads from French bakeries on the table).

    For gift-wrapping these messages, we have (oh, let's see) a Hillary Swank (usually considered delicious) as Mary.., while her diffident, seldom-smiling, not-very-appealing husband wore a barely tolerable physiognomy, which otherwise would never be cast as a leading man. The same goes for her father (James Woods). From there.., most of the other slips and dips of indoctrination are far more subtle and veiled.. as is usually the case, and de rigueur for effective Hollywood propaganda.

    It gets even worse later on.., as Martha (a polite and seemingly good-natured Brit) comes center stage.., where the unfortunate, albeit (we must remember) insufferable male characters now get double-teamed, as it were -- Mary and Martha calmly portraying strong, patient women who've borne many a care, enduring their men's man-speak and insensitivities with forbearing smiles.., while their countenances hint at borderline disgust. The visual subtext could just as well have been one of exchanging thinly veiled winks, denoting their thinly stretched tolerance of men.. suspended in a tincture of perpetual suffering. I think you get my drift.

    But I am nothing.. if not fair. And my next cinematic goal is to locate and review a counterpoint film -- something perhaps showing a gentle, noble, virtuous male (who, let's say, works for Doctors Without Borders).. ensnared and tormented in the clutches of a shallow, petty, entitled, and vindictive wife. I bid you.. wish me well.., as currently I'm having difficulty finding the existence of any such movie.

    Postscript: There is an irony in all this -- namely, that the unfortunately unconvincing but nonetheless REAL globalist agenda.. is not concerned about the continent of Africa or its people. Never was. That is.., historically, the corporatized NWO overlords have only cared about Africa's resources, not its people, except as a source of cheap labor to extract said resources. The agenda, as expressed, say, in Agenda 21 or 2030.. and/or the Georgia Guidestones in fact calls for at least an 80% reduction in global population. Africa will not be a priority. So, if anyone has any plan to address the malaria problem in Africa.., it's probably to send more mosquitoes.

    cheers!!😇
  • Warning: Spoilers
    I did not realize that this story was based on the British mother, not the American mother. The American mother was definitely given more screen time, but then, it was Hilary Swank. The British mother was Brenda Blethyn, who can basically do anything.

    The two lead actresses do their best in an awkward script that tries to connect their lives via the tragedies of their sons, lost to malaria.

    While no doubt the heart of this story was in the right place, it never once asked the question: "Why isn't the government of Mozambique doing more to fight malaria, and/or contacting the US for help?"

    Instead, what we have is a story of a very rich white woman (Hilary) who makes an insane decision to take her bullied son out of school for an "adventure," goes to Mozambique, expects people to serve her son pizza when he can't eat the local cuisine, seems totally oblivious to the dangers of living where she chose to live with a young child (hello, hospitals hours away?), and apparently had lots of money to always have a driver and people carry her things.

    When her child dies of malaria, we're forced to see Hilary staring blankly out into space while she suffers.

    I could go on, but to be honest, this was not a movie; it was an imitation of a movie. It was forced and manipulative, and if the people behind this really wanted to make a point or raise awareness about this issue, they would have made a documentary (which they may have made, I don't know).

    It's really not worth the time.
  • studioAT27 August 2021
    Anyone expecting the usual Richard Curtis fare here will get a shock - this is emotional stuff indeed, and does not make for an easy watch at all.

    It covers important issues, but it wasn't my sort of thing.