The best mother-daughter movies of all time

The world has rediscovered Freaky Friday en masse with the arrival of its sequel, Freakier Friday, in which Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis reprise their iconic lead roles. Having rewatched the 2003 film myself recently, I was struck by how, through the Disneyfied aesthetic and cheesy moments, it manages to represent so beautifully a mother-daughter relationship in a very rocky phase, and then teach us that the only way to repair such damage is through empathy (here, Anna and her mum Tess are put under a curse in which they have to live in one another’s bodies for the day). Naturally, it’s a little black and white in its happily-ever-after ending and sudden epiphanies – but it remains a must-watch for teen girls and their mums everywhere. This treasured and complex relationship has been explored on film in myriad ways by some fantastic directors and actors. For all ages and tastes, here is my pick of the best mother-daughter movies.

Lady Bird (2017)

Starring the inimitable Saoirse Ronan as a fiercely independent teen who wants nothing more than freedom and just cannot get along with her mother – an overworked and exhausted nurse – this film makes me weep perhaps more than any other. Ronan is exquisite as Christine McPherson, AKA Lady Bird, a young woman on the verge of adulthood, desperate to leave Sacramento, California, for a university on the East Coast; her mother is worried about money, worried about her job, worried about everything. As Lady Bird navigates early sexual encounters and friendships, it’s the mother-daughter bond that is at the core of the film, as they continually miscommunicate and fall out precisely because they care for each other so much. The opening and closing scenes alone are works of art. (Photo: Megan Dobson)

The Lost Daughter (2021)

Olivia Colman stars in this dark psychological thriller based on the novel by Elena Ferrante. Leda Caruso is a woman in midlife staying at a beach resort in Greece, where she becomes involved with a local family when a child, Elena, temporarily goes missing – Leda helps to look for her and eventually finds her, returning her to her mother, Nina (Dakota Johnson). But then Elena’s doll goes missing, too – and it transpires Leda has taken it secretly. The story of Leda’s own life soon unravels and it becomes clear that she herself has a complicated relationship with motherhood to two daughters. The Lost Daughter isn’t an easy watch at times, but with a stellar cast (Jessie Buckley as the young Leda and Paul Mescal as Will, who works at a local bar), it’s uneasily compelling, just like reading one of Ferrante’s brilliant novels. (Photo: Yannis Drakoulidis)

Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)

This big-budget chaos movie nabbed many Oscars back in 2023 – but while you might initially be drawn to it for its spectacular special effects or deeply existential themes, at its heart is the story of a broken mother-daughter bond that can only be fixed by travelling through the infinite multiverse. Michelle Yeoh is Evelyn, the harried mother of Joy (Stephanie Hsu); she’s a first-generation Chinese immigrant running a laundromat and trying to make ends meet while her daughter is struggling with depression. As portals into parallel universes start to explode, representing the infinite possibilities of life and its choices, Yeoh must fight against her daughter, who has turned evil, as she tries to take over – until they end up fighting together. I don’t understand, either, but by the end you have a clear message. (Photo: Allyson Riggs/A24 Films via AP)

Brave (2012)

Pixar’s wonderful Scottish-themed film Brave, with its alternative Disney princess Merida, is a timeless tale of growing up and becoming yourself. Not only was Merida (voiced by Kelly Macdonald) wonderfully different from the usual Disney princess (with wild red hair and more interest in bows and arrows than glass slippers), but the story is a beautifully Freaky Friday-esque tale of empathy and acceptance. Merida’s mother, Queen Elinor (voiced by Emma Thompson), wants to marry her off to uphold the reputation of the kingdom – but Merida can’t bear it. She runs away and meets a witch in the forest, who grants her a spell to “change” Elinor – Elinor becomes trapped in the body of a bear. Via beautiful animation and Scottish folklore, Brave is about loyalty, perseverance and identity – and it’s got a great soundtrack, too. (Photo: Disney/Pixar)

Mamma Mia! (2008)

Mamma Mia! is about many things – marriage, middle age, Pierce Brosnan’s singing voice, the timeless joy of Abba – but it is at its most quietly moving in scenes between young Sophie (Amanda Seyfried), about to get married at 20, and Donna (Meryl Streep), whose peaceful island existence has been suddenly interrupted by the presence of Sophie’s three possible fathers. Streep is, of course, outstanding as a mother looking back on her own choices and worrying about their impact on her daughter; Seyfried is excellent as the fiery Sophie who loves her mother for her independence but has moments of anger where she wishes her life were simpler. They come together in the pre-wedding scene and song “Slipping Through My Fingers”, as Donna helps Sophie get ready, doing her hair, washing her, and preparing to let go. It’s a blub fest. (Photo: Peter Mountain/Universal Studios)

Barbie (2023)

Though Greta Gerwig’s 2023 Barbie movie was wide-reaching in its aims – with plenty to say about feminism, the patriarchy and existential dread – it’s also about a mother-daughter bond. When Barbie (Margot Robbie) is suddenly afflicted with imperfections, she leaves Barbieland, embarking on a quest to find the little girl playing with her. She thinks it’s a teen girl, Sasha, but it turns out to be her mother, Gloria (America Ferreira), who had nostalgically returned to her old dolls. As Sasha has been growing up, she and Gloria have drifted apart – but their newfound quest to save Barbieland, which is now under threat from the troupe of Kens who have discovered the concept of patriarchy, brings them back together. Matriarchy all round. (Photo: Warner Bros. Pictures via AP)

Carrie (1976)

Stephen King’s hit debut novel and its infamous film version centres on the extreme anger and otherness its titular character feels – a state induced not least by her bullying school colleagues and the harsh demands of puberty, but also by her hyper-strict religious extremist mother, Margaret. She has never taught Carrie about menstruation – so when she has her first period in the shower at school, she panics; Margaret tells her it was caused by sin. From there, Carrie discovers she possesses telekinetic powers, and uses them to harness independence and rebel against her conservative home life in increasingly evil-seeming ways. There is the famous prom scene that leaves Carrie covered in pig’s blood – and then there is the final, horrific mother-daughter showdown. (Photo: United Archives via Getty)

Anywhere But Here (1999)

This rich, vivid 1999 movie starring Susan Sarandon and an 18-year-old Natalie Portman is about an enmeshed mother and daughter with conflicting ambitions and personalities. When they upend from their small-town life in Wisconsin for Beverly Hills, Adele (Sarandon) has high hopes that her daughter will become a Hollywood actress. But bookish Ann (Portman) just wants to go to Brown University. Adele’s drama, charisma and magic leak into every facet of their lives and Ann wants nothing more than independence from it all – but eventually they find a way to work together to achieve Ann’s dream. It’s a whirlwind of a film fuelled by the spirit and chemistry of these two brilliant actresses. (Photo: Lorey Sebastian/AP)

Terms of Endearment (1983)

James L Brooks’ tragicomedy Terms of Endearment was a critical and commercial smash-hit back in 1983 – winning five Oscars, three Golden Globes and a slew of other awards – and holds up to this day. Shirley MacLaine and Debra Winger are Aurora and Emma, a mother and daughter with a fractious but close relationship. Through romances, marriages and children, they separate and part, argue and console, always finding their way back to one another. Jack Nicholson, Danny DeVito and John Lithgow also star – what more could you want? (Photo: Images Press/Getty)

Petite Maman (2021)

Celine Sciamma’s delicate and moving 2021 film Petite Maman blends imagination and reality. Eight-year-old Nelly (Joséphine Sanz) is uprooted when her grandmother dies and the family decamp to her old house – her mother’s family home – to clear it. Troubled by the sadness of her mother, Marion (Nina Meurisse), and the fact that she didn’t properly say goodbye to her grandmother, Nelly meets another little girl in the woods, also called Marion, with whom she starts building a cabin. This Marion turns out to be a younger version of her own mother, played by Gabrielle Sanz, Joséphine’s twin. As the story develops, Nelly learns more and more about her family history in a beautiful exploration of parental bonds and the feelings and stories we unknowingly inherit. (Photo: Jenny Carroll/Organic Publicity)

The Florida Project (2017)

Sean Baker’s 2017 film is a colourful anti-fairy tale about childhood. Six-year-old Moonee lives with her mother, Halley, in a budget motel in Florida, just down the road from Disney World, where Halley is struggling to make ends meet. While Moonee roams freely in the area, making friends and discoveries, Halley becomes more and more trapped in her situation as she tries to find ways to make money after losing her job as a stripper. The film is a beautiful meditation on the simultaneous freedom and restrictions of the young. (Photo: Alititude Films/Marc Schmidt)

Grey Gardens (1975)

The only documentary in the list, with good reason. Big and Little Edie Beale – socialites, mother and daughter and relatives of Jackie Kennedy – lived reclusively together for years in a mansion in New York state, and this film shows their bizarre, ramshackle life in all its glory. The Grey Gardens estate had been purchased by Big Edie in the 1920s, but by the early 70s was falling into disrepair. In 1972, Jackie and her sister provided them with the money to restore the house, which was becoming overrun by cats and raccoons; this documentary, filmed in 1974, shows the aftermath, with the women’s unique personalities shining through. (Photo: Archive Photos/Getty)

Dumplin’ (2018)

Will and Rosie are a mother and daughter who find it difficult to connect: Will (Danielle Macdonald) – whom Rosie nicknames “Dumplin’” – is an overweight teenager who often feels judged, while Rosie (Jennifer Aniston) is a former beauty queen still involved in pageant life with little time for her daughter. As a result, Will is mainly brought up by her Aunt Lucy – but when Lucy dies a few months before Will goes into her last year of high school, the pair are forced together again. When Will discovers an old application by Lucy for their Texas town’s Miss Teen Bluebonnet Pageant, she is inspired to enter herself, and the pair have to work together to understand each other as Will encroaches on her mother’s territory. (Photo: Bob Mahoney/Netflix)

Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret (2023)

Fans were delighted when Judy Blume’s beloved 1970 novel was released as a film, starring Rachel McAdams, Kathy Bates and Abby Ryder Fortson, in 2023. This story is made all the better by the fact that it’s about three generations – 11-year-old Margaret (Ryder Fortson), her mother Barbara (McAdams) and her father’s mother Sylvia (Bates), with whom Barbara has a close relationship in lieu of one with her own parents, who disowned her when she married a Jew. As Margaret and her family move to the suburbs from New York City – leaving Sylvia behind – she begins to talk to God to navigate life and growing up. Radical back when the book was released, the story is still profound, funny and eternally relatable. (Photo: Lionsgate)

Little Women (2019)

Greta Gerwig’s adaptation of Little Women was like little that had come before it: full, warm, loud, slightly chaotic. At its heart and more prominent than in other versions was the role of Marmee, played by Laura Dern, whom Gerwig showed as being fundamental to the family as the four sisters (also expertly played, in turn, by Saoirse Ronan, Florence Pugh, Emma Watson and Eliza Scanlan) floundered and found themselves. Dern was shown as having endless time and patience for her children, stoical and kind, leading by example in her charitable acts and calm in the face of stress and sadness (waiting for her husband to return from war as well as grappling with the illness of her youngest daughter, Beth). The film is about sisterhood and growing up – but it’s got a lot to say about the burdens and privileges of motherhood, too. (Photo: Wilson Webb/Sony Pictures via AP)