Seems that the new trend in cinema is for actors to direct their own features. This year alone we’ve got Harris Dickinson’s Urchin, Scarlett Johansson’s Eleanor the Great and Kristen Stewart’s The Chronology of Water. Joining them is Kristen Scott Thomas with My Mother’s Wedding. It’s been quite the journey for this dramedy; hitting the festival circuit back in 2023, having a limited US release earlier this year, and now showing at the Dinard British and Irish Film Festival as the opening gala. Unfortunately, it seems clear why the film has had a turbulent journey so far.

Based on Scott Thomas’ own life, the story centres on three women—Naval captain Katherine (Scarlett Johansson), actor Victoria (Sienna Miller) and NHS nurse Georgina (Emily Beecham)—who return to their countryside home for the wedding of their twice-widowed mother, Diana (Scott Thomas). Each daughter has their own complicated matters—troubled relationships, chiefly—that bubble to the surface when confronting this big change. My Mother’s Wedding does resolve each sister’s internal journeys, but it’s an uneven ride getting there.

Boasting a cast of capable actors, they all turn in good performances, but it isn’t enough to save the film thanks to its uneven tone and predictable narrative. Pitched as a dramedy, Scott Thomas is more interested in the drama. There’s an out-of-place subplot that involves a private investigator doing some digging for one of the sisters. Admittedly these scenes are pretty damn funny, but the almost slapstick nature clashes with the rest of the film. Other attempts at comedy are too twee to muster any real laughs.

Co-written by Scott Thomas, the story clearly comes from a personal, passionate place. The end credits even reference Scott Thomas’ own fathers, who both died as Royal Navy pilots. But there’s no room for any depth to each character’s plight. Katherine gets the lion’s share of screen time, focusing on her memories of her father (shown in beautiful animated sequences), but the clunky dialogue robs the meaningful themes of family and relationships of any impact.

Eventually, Scott Thomas makes an evocative point about idolising father figures, but it’s too little too late. What makes My Mother’s Wedding so frustrating is that all the elements are here for a genuinely moving comedy drama, but the execution is lacking. Scott Thomas has a great story to tell, but she isn’t the right person to tell it.

My Mother’s Wedding screened at the 2025 Dinard British & Irish Film Festival.