Hydrangea Movie Themes

Jim Cumming's Hydrangea depicts a mother struggling with her allotted role in life.

The second film from Jim Cumming's three part series Still Life—each engaging with a different contemporary issue—Hydrangea hones in on themes of gender roles and mental health. The film opens with a shot of Hannah staring off emptily. Then a fake smile comes across her face and the camera zooms out to reveal she is on an infomercial set with her son, Tony, and husband, David—she says her line and strokes her son's hair until the scene cuts. Hannah and her husband bicker offset during a filming break, discussing their son missing school—the argument devolves as Hannah's husband becomes angry, wanting her to just get through so they can be paid. As their argument escalates, Hannah accuses David of being drunk; he fires back saying she has broken from her antidepressant regimen. They return to filming and the cameramen tell Hannah she is coming across as uninterested—they try another take and the camera zooms in on Hannah's once again empty

The film opens with an image of a happy family—however, the camera's zoom out disrupts this imaging, showing it to be nothing more than a performance. The next phase occurs when Hannah and her husband fight off to the side—the new reality showing Hannah oppressed by a verbally abusive and potentially alcoholic husband. The return to the film set creates an entirely new picture—the happy family image is shown to be a thin façade rife with cracks. The final camera movement—a zoom out to reveal that Hannah is in her own house and the film set is in her mind—create a new sense entirely. Hannah's sanity is brought into question—not that her struggles are any less legitimate, but highlighting the psychological toll of trying to morph into an ideal maternal