About a Boy. AIBU to think the mum was very very annoying?

[NotSoSlimShadee]

The way she forced her kid to wear weird clothes knowing he’d get picked on for it, the way she forced him to be vegetarian because that was HER beliefs, the way she encouraged him to randomly start singing despite knowing it would make him a target …

AIBU to find her insufferable? I used to know a woman like this in real life, her kids were miserable.

I didn’t know that!

Christmas…..There was a nice Christmas dinner scene where the Hugh Grant character hadn’t been expecting to enjoy himself, but did. And of course the Christmas song, as a pp said.

Tonks. I have a girl crush 😀

I love this film ! I agree the mum is annoying, but that’s the point , he changes, she changes, the boy becomes popular and Will really does help him out in the end too.
It is a great little film ( haven’t read the book and maybe I should one day )
I always try and catch it if it’s on tele ( and I also love Toni Collette and she’s even better in Muriel’s wedding , another great film )

It was a good film. But I didn't analyse it too deeply. Sad thing was the mother thought she was doing her absolute best bringing up her son. And her methods were a disaster.

She was really depressed though wasn't she?

She was depressed and tried to kill herself :(
It is a Christmas film as a lot centres around Christmas times and the song of course.
mind you , when we meet his dad and his girlfriend, you can see why she is like she is I think !
I like how Will grows up too and decides to be more honest around not working and why he doesn’t.
Hugh grant is so good in this film , he plays villains really well , but he comes through a better person by the end.

She is a complicated character who is deeply depressed. Her attempted suicide is so desperately sad. Nick Hornby isn't a great writer by any means, but there are some moments in his books that are extremely powerful. Marcus imagining he sees his mother at the park and then finding her unconscious at home, at first not really understanding what is happening, are among these powerful moments IMO.

She was self absorbed but isn't that the nature of depression? Her son pretended everything was all right because he was trying to protect her. I think she'd tried to commit suicide before.

The book was about support and connection which she and Will didn't have - no man is an island. They became a family despite their differences.

Yes, the bit with the duck dying in the park lake and them both discovering the mum back home is well done.
Although Will does make the comment ‘ it was awful, but chasing behind the ambulance was good ‘
Probably one of the more honest characters in a film!
The soundtrack is good too.

She's meant to be a bit annoying, there's loads of parents like her in real life. She's poorly too though.

It's one of my favourite films.

I’ve never met anyone like her though in real life. Maybe the odd quirk, but not as extreme as she is with her beliefs around things that she is trying to pin onto him.
She wants him to be an individual. Some can and embrace it , but he is just too awkward and even the clever uncool boys can’t be friends with him :(
He also constantly wants to make her happy too, which is sad.
Maybe if they lived somewhere other than central London they might have been alright though , a more hippy area ? Less trendy ? More people around like them !

"Forced him to be a vegetarian because that was HER beliefs" - do you feel the same way about Christians raising their children as Christian, etc.? We all raise our children according to our belief system don't we?

I think it was a huge part of the point of the film, that she was unreasonable.

Hugh Grant says “he’s not expressing himself, he’s expressing you” to her.

I think it’s quite an important thing for parents to remember

In the book Marcus makes exactly this point. He and his mum have moved to London from Cambridge after the mum and dad split up.
He says that in Cambridge there are loads of kids like him and loads of parents like his but London is different- harder.

I know/ knew lots of people like Marcus' mum- the book version anyway.

Yeh, his death is focused on quite a bit in the book. Totslly ignored in the film.

Exactly. She's supposed to be annoying.

One of my favourite books. Fiona (the mum) is trying to do the right thing and stick to her values. She's also struggling with depression and bringing up a child without much help. She's an accurately drawn character.

I mean if she was a well balanced, happy normal parent it wouldn’t be much of a book/film.

This. Nuanced and wonderful from Toni Colette.

She wanted the world to be a better place and was desperately unhappy. Don't we all tread a fine line between parenting ethically and allowing some things. My personal line is after YouTube and before reality TV with DD. After Minecraft and before Fortnite.

Everyone has a line somewhere, unless they are shit parents. Those hyper-cool parents who take coke with their teenagers.

Yes as others said the whole point is that she’s like that but also depressed which prevents her from seeing how it affects Marcus and makes him scared to stand up/challenge her as he’s scared she’ll try and commit suicide again.

Good. It's a great little film as it is.

I didn't find the mother annoying particularly, more sad than anything with the mental health situation. She reminded me of lots of lentil weavy middle class parents with quirky children. Many of whom find their crowd and are popular, it depends on the school. You can only parent a child with your own personality, likes and dislikes, and not adopt someone else's. DD1's oldest friend's parents are quite odd and offbeat, but she is such a lovely girl and they get on because they are different.

Great film, performances and book!

Character is flawed/complicated, has faced difficulties and is unwell. Affecting her son.

Yeh, I actually prefer the film to the book, which is rare for me.

Toni Collette is one of my favourite actresses. She always disappears into the role - you don't see her, you see the character she's playing. This is no exception.