The Mother is an American action-thriller film starring Jennifer Lopez in the titular role. She plays a retired army sniper who comes out of hiding when her estranged 12-year-old daughter is kidnapped by someone from her past. The film is now streaming on Netflix.
Plot summary
The film opens with the Mother being interviewed by FBI agent William Cruise and his team. She tries to broker a deal for herself by turning in two of her associates involved in the illegal arms trade; Héctor Álvarez and Adrian Lovell.
She is revealed to be in a relationship with both and brokered a deal between them. However, certain circumstances forced her to turn them in. Shockingly, Lovell attacks the location, kills seven agents, and grievously wounds Cruise.
The Mother saves the agent and creates a makeshift bomb. As she hides in the shower, we see that she is pregnant. Lovell stabs her in the belly as the bomb goes off. Unfortunately, the man escapes with facial burns.
The child is born, and the Mother is forced to give her up by the FBI. She is told that if she keeps her, the kid’s life will always be in danger and the two men will never stop hunting her.
Reluctantly, the Mother gives up her parental rights, and the baby is approved for protected adoption. The Mother asks a recovering Cruise to keep her updated about her daughter in return for saving him. The former sniper then moves to a remote location in Alaska and stays underground for 12 years.
After all these years, she is called in by Cruise, who tells her that ATF nabbed some of Álvarez’s men in Mexico, and they had a picture of the daughter, who is called Zoe. Disturbed that her past is catching up to her, the Mother follows Zoe around for protection.
When Álvarez’s goons try to kidnap Zoe, the Mother guns most of them down. Unfortunately, she fails to stop her from being taken. Knowing that he is doing this to get to her, the Mother and Cruise travel to Cuba.
They apprehend a man involved in the kidnapping and interrogate him for Zoe’s whereabouts. After confirming that it is a trap, the Mother kills him and preps for the rescue.
The Mother ending explained in detail:
Why did the Mother betray Álvarez and Lovell?
Before they carry out their plan, Cruise asks the Mother about her past. She explains that while serving in the Middle East for the US Army, she was recruited by ex-SAS soldier, Adrian Lovell, for illegal arms trading. Having no one to go back to, she decided to think about it for her future.
However, she initially declined and got posted to Guantanamo Bay. There, she ran into another arms dealer, Hector Álvarez, and decided to get close to him. Eventually, she brokered a deal between the two men and was romantically involved with both.
However, things went south when she got pregnant and discovered that her associates were also involved in child trafficking. That is when she decided to get out and contacted the FBI.
What happens to Zoe?
The Mother and Cruise use their skills to eliminate Álvarez’s men and extract Zoe from his mansion. However, the former heads back to finish the job. After an extended and brutal exchange of words, she murders Álvarez.
The trio flies back to America, and Zoe is certain that the woman who rescued her is her biological mother. Unfortunately, she doesn’t admit it and decides to walk out of Zoe’s life again.
Cruise is ambushed by Lovell while driving Zoe back to her adoptive family. The agent is killed, but the Mother shows up and rescues Zoe once again. She calls her adoptive mom and promises to bring the girl back when it is safe.
For now, she decides to take her back to Alaska with her. There, Zoe gets a harsh reality check about the brutal nature of life when she is forced to hunt for food.
The Mother takes it upon herself to teach the girl how to survive, forcing her to learn driving, shooting, hunting, and other skills. There is a lot of friction between the two as Zoe doesn’t get any answers about her past. However, the two start to bond with time.
How does Lovell find them?
While playing with a bunch of wolf cubs, Zoe is accidentally bitten and has to get stitches. Even though it’s a minor injury, the girl messes up by telling the doctor her real name.
The Mother realizes that this will be enough for Lovell to track her and makes the difficult choice. She leaves Zoe with a former associate, preparing to take on Lovell’s forces by herself.
As her Lovell zeroes in on the location, Zoe finds a letter from her mother and realizes how much she sacrificed. Instead of running away, Zoe uses her new driving skills to return and help her mom.
Do the Mother and Zoe survive?
The Mother eliminates most of Lovell’s men but he blows up her house. Zoe is almost captured again but is saved by her mom just in time. They head to their elevated shooting platform and take out more men.
Unfortunately, Lovell has Zoe in shooting sight and asks the Mother to face him lest he shoots the girl. Having no choice, she agrees but begs Zoe to run for her life.
As Lovell and the Mother get into a tussle, Zoe shoots the latter with a salt shell. Lovell believes that her rival is dead and decides to leave with Zoe.
A slightly injured Mother wakes up and uses her sniping skills to kill Lovell before his vehicle can get out of range. Zoe gets out of the car and runs to hug her mom.
With all threats eliminated, the Mother moves to the same place as Zoe, who returns to her adoptive family. However, we see that the two remain in touch, with their bond becoming stronger by the day.
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