AT THE MOVIES

by Isy Jordan

Ma
Director: Tate Taylor
Starring: Octavia Spencer, Juliette Lewis, Luke Evans, Diana Silvers, and more.

A lonely woman befriends a group of teenagers and decides to let them party at her house. Just when the kids think their luck couldn't get any better, things start happening that make them question the intention of their host.

When new girl Maggie and her mom Erica move to a new town, she makes new friends. Like most teenagers, they just want to hang out and party. But it's hard to get alcohol when you're in high school and finding a place where you can hang out safely is even more of a challenge.

One day, they find a lady to go buy them alcohol. Ma (Spencer) seems too good to be true. She even offers them the basement of her house for a hangout. Life is good and Ma is a lot of fun until they start to realize that Ma isn't exactly who they thought she was.

Ma was an intense and often sad cautionary tale. Do any of us ever really lose the hurts of high school? No. At first, you understand Ma's willingness to keep a group of young people safe and she seems like a lot of fun. Then you realize her offer comes with strings and needs she projects onto the young people she's befriended.

Spencer plays Ma with an unpredictability not too different from Kathy Bates' Annie Wilkes in Misery. She doesn't take rejection well and even once you learn what happened in her backstory, she still manages to terrify you.

The acting in the film was strong and the pacing was good. The story wandered here and there but managed to keep the viewer's interest without being too predictable. It's rated R for violence, teen alcohol and drug use, sexual content, and language. It's an hour and 39 minutes long which was just the right length.

Out on streaming services now, I recommend the film for those who like thrillers and suspenseful movies.

Isy