My Mother
These are hard days for Margherita, who is going through a very difficult period in her life. On a professional level first, the middle-aged film director, has started wondering whether the committed movies she has been making are really an actual reflection of the world she lives in ; on top of this, she is in conflict not only with her crew but also, and primarily, with Barry Huggins, a well-known American actor of Italian origin, who proves awfully bad and uncontrollable. On the personal level, things do not get any better - it could even be said they are worse. Margherita has just left her life partner and she has become unable to relate to her teenage daughter. As for her mother, she is now seriously ill and her doctor tries to prepare her brother and her for the worst. Which is unacceptable to the weakened woman who can find salvation only in denial of reality. Will she manage to face up to the facts and to come to terms with herself?
Working with a limited budget of $7.0M, the film achieved a respectable showing with $7.7M in global revenue (+10% profit margin).
12 wins & 25 nominations
Plot Structure
Story beats plotted across runtime
Narrative Arc
Emotional journey through the story's key moments
Story Circle
Blueprint 15-beat structure
Arcplot Score Breakdown
Weighted: Precision (70%) + Arc (15%) + Theme (15%)
My Mother (2015) exemplifies precise story structure, characteristic of Nanni Moretti's storytelling approach. This structural analysis examines how the film's 15-point plot structure maps to proven narrative frameworks across 1 hour and 46 minutes. With an Arcplot score of 7.4, the film balances conventional beats with creative variation.
Structural Analysis
The Status Quo at 2 minutes (1% through the runtime) establishes Margherita is shown as a competent, confident film director on set, commanding her crew and managing the demands of her current production. She appears in control of her professional world.. Of particular interest, this early placement immediately immerses viewers in the story world.
The inciting incident occurs at 12 minutes when Margherita receives news that her mother's condition has worsened significantly. The doctors indicate that Ada may not have much time left, forcing Margherita to confront the reality of impending loss.. At 12% through the film, this Disruption aligns precisely with traditional story structure. This beat shifts the emotional landscape, launching the protagonist into the central conflict.
The First Threshold at 26 minutes marks the transition into Act II, occurring at 25% of the runtime. This illustrates the protagonist's commitment to Margherita makes the active choice to remain committed to both worlds despite their incompatibility, refusing to shut down her film production even as her mother's death approaches. She enters a state of sustained crisis management., moving from reaction to action.
At 53 minutes, the Midpoint arrives at 50% of the runtime—precisely centered, creating perfect narrative symmetry. Structural examination shows that this crucial beat A critical moment at the hospital or on set where Margherita's facade cracks. Either her mother has a severe turn or she has a major breakdown on set, making clear that she cannot maintain both worlds. The stakes raise dramatically as false control gives way to real helplessness., fundamentally raising what's at risk. The emotional intensity shifts, dividing the narrative into clear before-and-after phases.
The Collapse moment at 79 minutes (75% through) represents the emotional nadir. Here, Ada dies. Margherita loses her mother, the whiff of death made literal. This is the ultimate loss from which there is no return, the moment that all the struggle has been leading toward and trying to prevent., indicates the protagonist at their lowest point. This beat's placement in the final quarter sets up the climactic reversal.
The Second Threshold at 85 minutes initiates the final act resolution at 80% of the runtime. Margherita finds a moment of clarity or synthesis - perhaps through a conversation with her brother, a memory of her mother, or simply through acceptance. She realizes she must continue living, must return to her work, carrying her mother's memory forward rather than being destroyed by the loss., demonstrating the transformation achieved throughout the journey.
Emotional Journey
My Mother's emotional architecture traces a deliberate progression across 15 carefully calibrated beats.
Narrative Framework
This structural analysis employs structural analysis methodology used to understand storytelling architecture. By mapping My Mother against these established plot points, we can identify how Nanni Moretti utilizes or subverts traditional narrative conventions. The plot point approach reveals not only adherence to structural principles but also creative choices that distinguish My Mother within the drama genre.
Comparative Analysis
Additional drama films include Eye for an Eye, South Pacific and Kiss of the Spider Woman.
Plot Points by Act
Act I
SetupStatus Quo
Margherita is shown as a competent, confident film director on set, commanding her crew and managing the demands of her current production. She appears in control of her professional world.
Theme
A conversation with her brother Giovanni or colleague touches on the difficulty of balancing life's demands and the impossibility of being everywhere at once, foreshadowing Margherita's coming struggle between work and family.
Worldbuilding
Introduction to Margherita's dual worlds: her demanding film production with difficult American actor Barry Huggins, and her family life with her daughter and ex-husband. We see her relationships, her mother Ada in declining health, and the support system of her brother Giovanni.
Disruption
Margherita receives news that her mother's condition has worsened significantly. The doctors indicate that Ada may not have much time left, forcing Margherita to confront the reality of impending loss.
Resistance
Margherita attempts to continue both her film and family duties, resisting the full emotional weight of her mother's decline. She and Giovanni share hospital vigil duties, discussing their mother's condition while Margherita still tries to maintain control over her film production.
Act II
ConfrontationFirst Threshold
Margherita makes the active choice to remain committed to both worlds despite their incompatibility, refusing to shut down her film production even as her mother's death approaches. She enters a state of sustained crisis management.
Mirror World
The relationship with Barry Huggins, the difficult American actor, deepens. His own struggles with memory and control mirror Margherita's journey. Additionally, memories of her mother and their relationship serve as the emotional B-story carrying the theme of love, loss, and letting go.
Premise
The promise of the premise: watching Margherita attempt the impossible juggling act between directing her film and caring for her dying mother. She moves between film set and hospital, experiencing the full weight of both worlds, losing control in both arenas.
Midpoint
A critical moment at the hospital or on set where Margherita's facade cracks. Either her mother has a severe turn or she has a major breakdown on set, making clear that she cannot maintain both worlds. The stakes raise dramatically as false control gives way to real helplessness.
Opposition
Everything intensifies: production problems multiply, Barry becomes more difficult, and Ada's condition deteriorates. Margherita's control slips further as she struggles to be present for her mother while her professional obligations demand attention. Past memories of her mother surface more frequently.
Collapse
Ada dies. Margherita loses her mother, the whiff of death made literal. This is the ultimate loss from which there is no return, the moment that all the struggle has been leading toward and trying to prevent.
Crisis
Margherita processes her grief. The dark night of the soul where she sits with the reality of her mother's death, surrounded by family. She must confront what she has lost and what remains. Dreams and memories of her mother flood her consciousness.
Act III
ResolutionSecond Threshold
Margherita finds a moment of clarity or synthesis - perhaps through a conversation with her brother, a memory of her mother, or simply through acceptance. She realizes she must continue living, must return to her work, carrying her mother's memory forward rather than being destroyed by the loss.
Synthesis
Margherita returns to complete her film, transformed by grief but also by understanding. She handles Barry and the production with new perspective. The film within the film concludes, paralleling her own journey toward closure and acceptance of loss.
Transformation
A closing image of Margherita, now carrying the memory of her mother within her. She is changed - still a director, still a mother and sister, but now also someone who has survived profound loss and integrated it into her being. The final image mirrors the opening but shows a woman transformed by grief.