Mother’s Day (2023) Plot Summary
The story centers on Nina, an ex-Special Ops agent who’s now retired from the game. She’s faked her own death to hide from mob bosses (despite showing up in public areas all the time and starting fights) and she’s living in regret for what could have been. Her birth son, Max, has been adopted and doesn’t know his own mum, given she gave him up to keep him safe.
When ruthless gangsters kidnap Max, Nina is forced back into action again, hell-bent on finding her son and saving his life before it’s too late.
From here, the story follows a very simple “damsel in distress” archetype, with Max filling in that role, while Nina fights through waves of goons in different areas, all in a bid to get her son back.
Who has taken Max?
Throughout the movie, Nina calls on the efforts of a police officer that’s playing both sides of the law. He feeds Nina crucial intel and information to help her get Max back. After obtaining Max’s phone, the guy plays a recording the kidnappers have left.
Within this, it’s revealed that Dusan Dragan, the son of Spiridon Dragan who was killed by Nina during a previous operation, is behind this. The sole motivation here is revenge – blood for blood.
Nina’s mission sees her head to various different establishments, including a kitchen and then Titus’ compound. Nina is eventually blindsided and tied up alongside her son. When Volto arrives, the man in charge of Titus and his goons, he’s angered to find the pair gone. Volto kills Titus, and decides to bring in “the Witch” to help find Nina aka. Kikimora.
Who is Volto?
Volto is a dangerous player in the Polish underworld, an unpredictable, eccentric psychopath who will stop at nothing to get what he wants. And he’s also the most charismatic character in the film! He’s a notorious gangster and certainly not someone to be trifled with, despite his flamboyant appearance.
Nina takes Max to a safe house to hide from these guys and only lets the corrupt officer from earlier in the movie know about this. Alone together, Nina reveals the truth to Max. His parents didn’t die in a car crash after all. Nina explains that the bad guys wanted her dead so it was best to go into hiding by faking her own death.
When the lights shut off, she’s forced to protect Max. Another shoot-out ensues, this time thanks to Max blowing their cover. It turns out he actually sneakily phoned his parents before and Volto’s goons show up and begin shooting the place up. In the ensuing conflict, Nina is shot through the shoulder but she does manage to thwart most of the goons, eventually killing Volto in hand-to-hand combat.
Max hurries back home but once more he’s stopped outside his home and kidnapped by a different set of goons, these ones working for the Witch.
How does Nina get Max back?
Bleeding out and in a rough way, it’s Max’s adoptive parents that actually help patch her up. Witch phones through to Nina, who has Max held hostage. Nina’s tasked with recovering a whole stack of cash and she has 5 hours to get it done. Nina promises to get Max back for his parents, and heads out to start her mission.
The money is kept at the police headquarters and it’s going to be nigh-on impossible to break in. Despite agreeing to get her the blueprints, Nina’s terrible spatial awareness comes into play as she’s hit with a car from behind in the parking lot. It’s the corrupt police officer, he’s double crossed her!
As a side note at this point, despite being a capable special agent, Nina is constantly hit and knocked out from behind. In fact, in almost every single fight during this movie, she sustains a nasty blow from behind. In the kitchen, Titus’ compound, the safe house and now inside the parking lot. Whether intentional or not, it’s a rather amusing and strange motif!
Does Nina make it out alive?
Nina is carted out into the middle of nowhere after being knocked out, where she finally gets some answers. Our turncoat police office is actually working with other corrupt officers, who faked the whole thing and reveal that actually, there is no Dusan Dragan. It was the police all this time.
Nina is forced to dig her own grave but she soon turns the tables, through the power of editing, as the next scene she’s coming out all guns blazing, thwarting the officers and destroying the burning van, which explodes along with all the money in the back.
Nina does return with the bags full of cash to the Witch within the allotted time. Reluctantly, the Witch lets her and Max go but on their way back, the police officer from before rams into the side of her car and causes a huge accident. With a gun in hand, he groggily tries to hit Nina and the others.
How does Mother’s Day end?
Nina eventually gets the upper-hand and demands answers. The officer claims he’d do anything for Zosia and did all this for a good payday. Nina decides not to kill him but does knock the guy out and leaves him at the scene of the accident.
Nina returns Max to his parents and tells him it’s up to him whether they’ll see each other again. And he does decide to see his birth mum after all, as he shows up at her apartment and the pair hug. As they sit together, Max wants to know more about his father. However, the doorbell rings, sending Nina up to check. It’s Nina’s mum and she warns that things are about to go down and they’re lucky she’s shown up.
During a mid-credit scene, our crooked cop tries to talk himself out of trouble at the embassy. Unfortunately, they have more than enough video evidence to put him away. Smiling weakly, he asks: “Can I call my daughter please?”
Read More: Mother’s Day Movie Review