Whether you want a taut thriller, a comedic look at the adolescent experience or watch a kick-ass mother-on-a-mission, Niamh O’Reilly puts together the ideal list of must-see movies to enjoy with your mum.

ROOM (2015)

Based on Emma Donoghue’s novel of the same name, this Oscar-winning film from Lenny Abrahamson is a moving tribute to the unbreakable power of motherhood, even in the most horrific of circumstances.

Brie Larson plays Ma, who was kidnapped as a teenager and imprisoned by her abuser Old Nick (Sean Bridgers). Whilst in captivity she gives birth to her son Jack played exquisitely by Jacob Tremblay, who is unaware of their predicament. “Room” as he calls it, is his world. He knows nothing of the outside, other than what he can see through the skylight. Ma manages to spin his mere 10ft x 10ft existence into a vast land filled with stories of adventure, whilst shielding him from the true horror of their lives.

It’s a harrowing storyline and viewers will be unable to stop their minds from recalling several similar real-world scenarios. But, while Room’s subject matter is dark, the film goes beyond the imprisonment and is very much about the triumphant spirit of a young mother’s love for her child in the most challenging of circumstances and how they both adjust to life after their ordeal.

Larson and the then seven-year-old Tremblay’s chemistry is simply excellent, and despite the subject matter, it’s a film that will leave you feeling surprisingly hopeful.

LADY BIRD (2017)

Saoirse Ronan sparkles as the spikey teenager Christine ‘Lady Bird’ McPherson in this utter delight of a film from Greta Gerwig.

Lady Bird is a 17-year-old who is desperate to escape her small-town life and go to college on the east coast of the United States. Her family cannot afford to send her, and her mum Marion, played by Laurie Metcalf is an overworked, frazzled nurse who is trying to keep the family's lives on track.

The chemistry between Ronan and Metcalf pitch perfect. Their characters can be arguing in one moment and then pause to both adore a dress on the rail in front of them the next.

The film will bring you back to those awkward, sometimes painful adolescent years with your own mum. The teenage angst, the bickering, the nagging, the struggle for independence, all with a big dose of humour and sweetness.

It’s guaranteed to have you ready to go and hug your mum and laugh together at surviving those crazy teenage years.

MERMAIDS (1990)

Was there ever a more fantastic '90s film line-up than Cher, Winona Ryder and Christina Ricci? We don’t think so and if you’ve never seen this absolute gem of a coming-of-age film then it’s about time you did.

Set in a Massachusetts small town in 1963, the film centers on the nomadic Flax family, lead by the unconventional matriarch Rachel Flax played wonderfully by Cher, and her two daughters, nine-year-old Kate (Ricci) and 15-year-old Charlotte (Ryder).The complex mother/daughter relationship is at the heart of the film that explores the coming-of-age of both mum Rachel, who had Charlotte at just 16 and is herself trying to figure out her own path in life, as well as Charlotte. Ryders’s character is desperate for stability but has to put up with her mother moving every time she has a breakup. And she has many.

Rounding out the cast is Bob Hoskins as Rachel’s sometimes boyfriend Lou.

ERIN BROCKOVICH (2003)

Starring as the tough-as-nails, single mum-on-a-mission, Julia Roberts plays Erin Brockovich in an Oscar-winning turn.

After losing a lawsuit against the driver who hit her car, she badgers her lawyer Ed Masry, played by the late, great Albert Finney into giving her a job. While there she uncovers a conspiracy involving the Pacific Gas & Electric Company, who knowingly put dangerous chemicals in a town's water supply.

Based on real events, Roberts very much deserved her Oscar as the loud, brash and uncompromising Brockovich, who juggled life as a single mum, while taking on the bigwigs of corporate America who refused to take her or the case seriously. It’s a real David and Goliath story that will leave you feeling ready to take on the world.

BAD MOMS (2016)

Three overworked, stressed-out and underappreciated mums decide to break free and say no to the pressures thrust upon them by becoming bad moms.

Mila Kunis plays Amy, who is trying to juggle work, her young children and keeping up with the demands of the PTA lead by her nemesis Gwendolyn (Christina Applegate). Then she finds out her husband is cheating.

After having enough of it all, she goes out for a drink with Kathryn Hahn’s party-loving single mum Carla and oppressed mum Kiki (Kristen Bell). Cue lots of tequila shots, high jinks, rebelling against the unattainable picture of perfect motherhood and plenty of laughs along the way.

At times, it feels a little too glossy and slick to really get to the nub of the message it’s trying to convey about motherhood, but it’s still a light and fluffy affair to give you plenty of genuine giggles.

Erin Brockovich

Amy, Kiki and Carla

Beatrix Kiddo

KILL BILL VOL 1 AND 2 (2003) (2004)

In the history of kick-ass mums, Uma Thurman’s Beatrix Kiddo has got to be up there with the best of them. Quentin Tarantino’s two films were initially conceived as a single entity and were only split into two after pressure from the studio. Think of them as one story and best viewed together. The story is told in quintessential Tarantino-style with plenty of violence, interwoven narratives, shifting timelines and a big dose of kick-ass attitude.

Thurman exudes a steely determined cool as the woman referred to for the majority of the films as ‘The Bride’, on a mission of vengeance against the Deadly Viper Assassination Squad headed up by Bill, who put her in a coma on her wedding day and took her then unborn baby from her.

It’s as over the top as it sounds. Loud, brash and with a pumping soundtrack this is the ultimate tale of a mother taking care of her unfinished business.

The Mother of All Movies