FILM REVIEW: THE SECOND MOTHER

Val (Regina Casé) in The Second Mother.

Ma and order

By John Esther

In one of the nice neighborhoods of São Paulo, an upper-middle class family lives a life of monotonous order where everyone knows her or his place.

The official matriarch of the family, Bárbara (Karine Teles), seems to be of some importance to the fashion world. It is never exactly disclosed what she does, but we know it keeps her away from home during the week. Her husband, Carlos (Lourenco Mutarelli), was once an artist, but now just hangs around the house all day. He inherited money from his hardworking father so why labor? Their son, Fabinho (Michel Joelsas), is a teenage kid with all the advantages and none of the discipline to carve much of an identity for himself. He likes to swim and smoke pot. 

Holding the three in check is Val (Regina Casé), one of those quintessential domestic helpers who keeps everything in the house running on time and on target. She is there to see the casa of "Dona" Barbara make an impression to all that enter, wake up "Don" Carlos every morning at 11:00 a.m. to start another pointless day, and keep "her treasure" Fabinho out of trouble.

While it is clear the family is highly dependent on Val to assure the order of things, deep down they see Val as a second class citizen. They are nice and generous to her, but Val may not use the pool, sit with them at their dinner table, and she must always make sure she has done her chores before any she makes any personal requests.

Val is more than happy to accept this master/slave arrangement.

This longstanding modus operandi is disrupted with the arrival of Jéssica (Camila Márdila). Jessica has come from the northeast of Brazil to the most populous city in the Western and Southern hemisphere to study architecture. Raised by a person called Sandra, but financially supported by Val, Jessica is Val's daughter who she has not seen in 10 years.

The idea that someone of Jessica's social class would want to pursue a career in architecture is amusing to the Dona, but she takes it in kind stride. The Don takes it in a much kinder stride, clearly infatuated with the young woman who has just arrived in his home. (Click, click.)

While Val is proud of her daughter, she finds it very upsetting that Val does not know her place in the home. "She walks around with that expression likes she's a president," says Val -- who Jessica never refers to as "mom."

Soon enough, tensions accumulate in the household. There is a new element upsetting the natural order of life along class lines. Something has to give.

Written and directed by Anna Muylaert, The Second Mother maintains its charm and amusement during its nearly two-hour running time thanks to some fine performances by the cast, the notable art direction by Marquinho Pedroso, and superb cinematography by Barbara Alvarez.

The story about a young woman coming from "the outside" entering a particular milieu and shaking things up is not entirely new, but there is enough skill in The Second Mother to make this film worth viewing. The last 10 minutes of the film or so will raise a few questions about stability in the future, but out of a little chaos must rise a little (bit of) new order.