Mrs Lowry & Son

Speculation as to L.S. Lowry's sexuality is [to say the least] speculative...although the evidence tends to give an inkling as to his orientation.

Mr Lowry never married, lived with his mother and, at the tender age of 88, he publicly said that he had never been with a woman...nor did he say that he had been with a man...but, alas, that question was never asked.

Adrian Noble certainly has his suspicions...with [just] one brief scene, with [just] one quick look...he - subtlely - makes his opinion known...only to those who can recognise the signs!

This is basically a two-hander between Vanessa Redgrave & Timothy Spall...both punching out knockout performances...in complete contrast to each other. Mrs Lowry is a malicious malevolence, her son is a benign bugbear...both co-dependent in their respective solitudes.

Mr Noble adds a restrained quirkiness, it's neither over-powering nor over-used...just the right amount that gives an imagined insight as to how Lowry saw the world and later interpreted those images onto his canvas. Who knows what goes on inside a painter's head...this is a wholly fictional and [mostly] credible [imaginary] attempt to discover what actually made Lowry tick. It is both a joy and a - a times - toil. Not in a bad way...it's just that Mrs Lowry's dotage invokes a cruel vulnerability...she spits venom, snobbery and disappointment. It's harsh.

But...Timothy Spall's playful gentility always wins over. And that is what gives this film such a vital, lived-in edge, those sharp contrasts...between the imagination and the reality, by [both] filmmaker and subject...the result, a mighty fine tribute for a mighty artist.

Trailer...