Mary and Martha

"Two mothers lose their sons to malaria."

2013 1h 30m EN

😐

6.3

MID

★6.3TMDB · 85

DramaTV Movie

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Wealthy American housewife Mary Morgan takes her bullied son George out of school for home education,including a trip to Southern Africa. Whilst in Mozambique George is bitten by a mosquito which crawls through a hole in his net and dies of malaria. After his funeral at home Mary feels a compulsion to return to Africa where she meets English woman Martha O'Connell,whose 24 year old son Ben, a teacher with voluntary service overseas,has also died of malaria. Ben gave his net to one of his pupils,believing adults cannot catch malaria. The two women are shocked to see the high death rate caused by the disease and,whilst Martha stays in Africa as a voluntary helper,Mary petitions the American government to change things. Martha turns up at Mary's house unannounced and,helped by Mary's ex-diplomat father,they address a senate committee on health spending,persuading them to do more to combat malaria. They meet with some success though a coda states that much more can be done.

“Two mothers lose their sons to malaria.”

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Cast

Hilary Swank
Mary
Brenda Blethyn
Martha
Sam Claflin
Ben
Frank Grillo
Peter
James Woods
Mary's Father
Adam Neill
Teacher
Stephen Jennings
Principal
Chandler McIntyre
Hannah

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Phillip Noyce
Writers: Richard Curtis
Languages: English
Countries: South Africa, United Kingdom, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

90 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 13 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 3 countries: South Africa, United Kingdom, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Phillip Noyce, shot by Roberto De Angelis. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Hilary Swank and Brenda Blethyn and Sam Claflin carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Two mothers lose their sons to malaria.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt2284766 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Phillip Noyce directs. Roberto De Angelis behind the camera. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in South Africa, United Kingdom, United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

190 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
2Released 13 years ago.
3International production across 3 countries: South Africa, United Kingdom, United States of America.
4Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
5Directed by Phillip Noyce, shot by Roberto De Angelis. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Hilary Swank and Brenda Blethyn and Sam Claflin carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "Two mothers lose their sons to malaria.".
8IMDB entry: tt2284766 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Only 85 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.