After watching the first 10 minutes of Mostly Martha, I knew that this movie would focus on 3 types of Love: Love for Self, Romantic Love, and lastly, Familial Love. And it is because of these 3 aspects that help guide Martha Klein on the journey of becoming a better person by the end of the film. When we first see Martha, we see that she is in a therapist's office talking about her signature dish, roasted pigeon with a side of ravioli and truffles. She's there, not because of her own volition, but because her boss would fire her if she didn't. Although she doesn't blatantly tell the audience about herself, this exchange actually teaches us about how Martha's brain works. She perceives life through recipes; clear and orderly steps. If we use Martha's mentality, we see that she concludes that her rigidness, arrogance, passion, obsession, and lack of social life are the factors that ensure that her meals are perfect. So, of course, no type of love is apart of that equation. Love, in all its forms, is not even afterthoughts in Martha's mind.
But, almost immediately, 2 unexpected factors are presented; the death of Martha's sister resulting in Lina being left without a mother and the arrival of Mario. Both factors are completely out of Martha's control, and that absolutely infuriates her, causing her to want to refuse love and vulnerability more. As the film goes on, we see Lina & Mario force her to leave her comfort zone. And in a way, both Lina & Mario do so by using her language: cooking.
With Lina, Martha has to learn what it takes to care for a child (especially one that she's only somewhat close to). Martha wants the same validation from Lina that she gets from the customers at her restaurant when she makes her first meal for Lina. But she quickly learns that children are more impressed by the simpler things in life. It is Mario's pasta that he throws together that makes Lina finally start to eat. And with Mario, Martha has to learn that she's not weak when she can't juggle it all and that it's not the worst thing when someone else is in control. The most prominent example of this is when Mario comes over for dinner, but insists that Martha let him and Lina cook for her. It takes a while for Martha to get used to this (especially after seeing her precious kitchen in a complete mess), but it's this exchange that helps tear down Martha's wall and allow her to feel comfortable will not be in control. This scene is also the first time that we see Lina act like a real kid for once, playing games, laughing, and enjoying food.
In the end, it is Lina that teaches Martha what it feels like to really have love for/ from a family that she usually doesn't experience often in her adult life. And Mario teaches her how to let go, how to really understand how to communicate with children, and that it is okay to take time for yourself, and, ultimately, how to romantically love another.
But, almost immediately, 2 unexpected factors are presented; the death of Martha's sister resulting in Lina being left without a mother and the arrival of Mario. Both factors are completely out of Martha's control, and that absolutely infuriates her, causing her to want to refuse love and vulnerability more. As the film goes on, we see Lina & Mario force her to leave her comfort zone. And in a way, both Lina & Mario do so by using her language: cooking.
With Lina, Martha has to learn what it takes to care for a child (especially one that she's only somewhat close to). Martha wants the same validation from Lina that she gets from the customers at her restaurant when she makes her first meal for Lina. But she quickly learns that children are more impressed by the simpler things in life. It is Mario's pasta that he throws together that makes Lina finally start to eat. And with Mario, Martha has to learn that she's not weak when she can't juggle it all and that it's not the worst thing when someone else is in control. The most prominent example of this is when Mario comes over for dinner, but insists that Martha let him and Lina cook for her. It takes a while for Martha to get used to this (especially after seeing her precious kitchen in a complete mess), but it's this exchange that helps tear down Martha's wall and allow her to feel comfortable will not be in control. This scene is also the first time that we see Lina act like a real kid for once, playing games, laughing, and enjoying food.
In the end, it is Lina that teaches Martha what it feels like to really have love for/ from a family that she usually doesn't experience often in her adult life. And Mario teaches her how to let go, how to really understand how to communicate with children, and that it is okay to take time for yourself, and, ultimately, how to romantically love another.
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