A Mother follows Marion Frappier along her unsettling reality from the moment of young Lucas' birth to his untimely stay at the St. Jude Hospital. Distressed and preoccupied with the responsibility of caring for a child for which she simply was not ready, Marion constantly questions her ability as a mother figure to her son. Both in the past and the present.
These inescapable doubts have led her to make appalling decisions, from abandoning her infant on the day of his birth to unknowingly leaving him in a gas station bathroom. Throughout the years, it's the people around Marion, her mother Tyra Frappier, the social worker Margery Thornton, her neighbor Alice, and comforting restaurant cook Bill Brady who give her the courage to face parenthood and to make her realize that despite everything, she truly loves this person.
Nonetheless, Lucas is diagnosed with Leukemia, and his condition shows few signs of improvement, confronting Marion and her inundating guilt towards how she has treated him. This pushes her to mend their scarred yet intimate relationship, by overcoming trauma from both of their pasts. For example, Lucas' questions about his unknown father, a man whose actions Marion painstakingly struggles to forget.
Time and time again the film focuses on Marion's conflict within herself to confront her past decisions. She often questions the idea that we may be through with the past, but the past isn't through with us. This character study explores the themes of redemption, regret, self-reflexively, forgiveness, and hope, leading this story through its real and unflattering outcomes, a dedicated examination of the difficulties and glee of both motherhood and childhood.
