Charity's Place.com

DAVID'S MOTHER

REVIEWED BY CHARITY BISHOP

Our rating: 3 out of 5

Because of: language, sensuality, thematic elements

Rated:

One may never truly understand a mother's suffering. Most parents have it hard enough with rebellious teenagers and little kids throwing tantrums in the parking lot. But what if your little boy was so different that he could barely speak? That he was incapable of taking care of himself? That keeping him would be a full-time, stay-at-home job that you had to undertake completely by yourself?

This is the task Sally Goodson (Kirsty Alley) faces. The mother of a severely autistic son, she has made it her life's ambition to be his primary caregiver. Abandoned by a husband who simply couldn't deal with it (Chris Sarandon) and even having lost the support of her teenage daughter, Sally lives an isolated life constantly attempting to outwit the Child Care Social Services. After learning that David (Michael Goorjian) is not actually enrolled in the assessment program that they have listed under his name, the agency sends a social worker (Phylicia Rashad) to figure out why not. David cannot handle group situations. He becomes upset, angry, and panicked whenever he is forced to spend time in a class room. Sally's experiences with the public system have been less than impressive, and her son has not been enrolled in one since she found him sitting on the floor in a corner, having wet himself, completely ignored by the teachers.

Everyone around her encourages her to get help. It's not easy controlling a seventeen year old autistic. Sally's older sister Bea (Stockard Channing) attempts to lure her back into a social life by setting her up with John (Sam Waterston), a charming local store owner. Believing that her son will rapidly chase him away, Sally is shocked when John takes an interest in David. His attempts to teach the boy how to use the VCR prove successful with much patience and repeat motion, but this newfound understanding that her son might be capable of far greater things than she ever believed possible sends her into a tailspin. It has been her practice in the past to push everyone away, and cling to her only constant companion, her son.

While it received numerous awards after its premiere on primetime television, I am not quite sure what the purpose of David's Mother is. In many respects it is very painful to watch because seeing the emotional suffering of a mother who both feels trapped by her lifestyle and loves her son too much to abandon him is inspiring and heartbreaking. Sally's determination to make life as good as possible for David is her strongest trait, and she uses humor to cover up her numerous insecurities. Every time John gets too close, she pushes him away, afraid that he will hurt her, or that she will put him through the "disaster" that is her life. I think it is saying that sometimes we have to let go. I believe Sally does the right thing toward the end of the film in regards to her son, but was not happy with many of her other decisions, and her inability to let anyone else help her. She managed to hurt the one man who looked at her son and didn't see him as retarded or damaged.

The casting was very well done. It was not difficult to believe David was autistic, and Kirsty Alley's performance earned her an Emmy as a tormented and emotionally torn woman just attempting to make it through life without seeing the world tear her child to pieces. Waterston was so charming and sweet that you cannot help but like him. Even so, I wasn't fond of how the movie was filmed. Its flashbacks were awkward and some of the camera movements were shoddy. There isn't a colossal amount of content because it was a television production, but there are around a dozen profanities. Sally remembers fighting with her husband about sex. He leaves her for his secretary. Bea encourages her sister to make the most of a night without David to sleep with John -- which she does (implied).

Emotional conflict includes children on the street making fun of a group of "special ed" students, and some colossal fights between married couples, Sally and her teenage daughter, and even John and Sally, when he attempts to tell her that she's hanging on too tightly to her son. It's not a bad little movie by any merits, but it cannot exactly be classified as entertainment either. The issues of the characters run too deep, and demand a little soul-searching as it draws to a conclusion. If nothing else, it makes you grateful for the people in your life.