My Mother's Wedding

My Mother's Wedding
Theatrical release poster
Directed byKristin Scott Thomas
Written by
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyYves Bélanger
Edited byJoan Sobel
Music byRolfe Kent
Production
companies
Distributed by
Release dates
  • 7 September 2023 (2023-09-07) (TIFF)
  • 8 August 2025 (2025-08-08) (United States)
  • 29 May 2026 (2026-05-29) (United Kingdom)
Running time
96 minutes[1]
Countries
  • United Kingdom
  • United States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$1.3 million[2]

My Mother's Wedding (formerly titled North Star) is a 2023 comedy-drama film directed by Kristin Scott Thomas in her directorial debut, from a screenplay she co-wrote with her husband John Micklethwait. It stars Scott Thomas alongside Scarlett Johansson, Sienna Miller, Emily Beecham, Freida Pinto and Thibault de Montalembert. The plot follows three sisters who return to their family home to attend the third wedding of their twice-widowed mother, each dealing with their own personal problems.

The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on 7 September 2023. It was released in the United States on 8 August 2025 by Vertical and in the United Kingdom on 29 May 2026 by Universal Pictures.

Plot

Sisters Katherine, Victoria and Georgina return to their family home in the English countryside to attend the wedding of their twice-widowed mother Diana, who is marrying her third husband, Geoff Loveglove. Diana's first two husbands were both Royal Navy pilots; after Katherine and Victoria's father, John Frost, died in a plane crash during the Falklands War, Diana married his best friend, Jonathan Munson, who went missing in action in Bosnia and was presumed dead.

Katherine, the eldest daughter, is a captain in the Royal Navy who has been recently appointed the first woman to command a British aircraft carrier. Katherine still struggles with memories of her father and is often away at sea, leaving her son Marcus in the care of her longtime girlfriend, Jack. Middle daughter Victoria, a famous Hollywood actress, is unable to maintain a long-term relationship. Georgina, the half-sister and the youngest daughter, is a palliative nurse and, at Victoria's suggestion, has hired a private detective to investigate her husband Jeremy, whom she suspects is having an affair.

At the wedding reception, Victoria's wealthy and much older French lover, Jerome (whom she nicknames the "Grand Fromage"), arrives in a helicopter, although she had told him not to come. Victoria also reconnects with childhood sweetheart Charlie. After the reception, the three sisters watch video footage obtained by the private detective, which shows Jeremy having sex with another woman in their house; Georgina is disgusted and furious.

Katherine tells her sisters that when she was 12, Jonathan asked if she wanted to change her last name to Munson, as he wanted to adopt her and Victoria, but Katherine wanted to retain her birth father's last name. Victoria feels betrayed, saying she would have happily taken Jonathan's last name. As they argue, Victoria confronts Katherine over kissing another woman while in Africa, and Katherine blurts out that Victoria had a one-night stand with Jeremy before he met Georgina. Georgina accuses Victoria of having a vested interest in appointing a detective to prove Jeremy's infidelity.

Back at Diana's house, Jack informs Katherine that she has become pregnant through in vitro fertilisation, as she wanted a child of her own and wishes that Katherine will marry her so they can raise a family. Katherine is upset that Jack made this decision without discussing it with her, but Jack argues that Katherine goes away for months and that she had written about it in a letter sent to Katherine, who never answered. Katherine tells Jack she refuses to give up her career to co-parent a child she never asked for.

At dawn, Geoff calls the fire brigade after Victoria's 14-year-old son Skylar climbs a tree. Victoria is humiliated when one of the firefighters films her with his phone and lashes out at Geoff, declaring that he will never understand children because he has never been a father. Enraged, Diana slaps Victoria. The next morning at John's and Jonathan's graves, Diana tells the sisters that their fathers were not the perfect men they imagined. She admits that when Jonathan asked her to change her daughters' last names, she sent him to Katherine knowing she would not agree to it. She also urges her daughters to let go of the past and reaffirms that Geoff makes her happy.

Victoria apologises to Geoff and decides to give Charlie a chance. Back in London, Georgina finds the courage to divorce Jeremy and throw him out of the house. The family attends Katherine's promotion ceremony on board HMS Prince of Wales. After the ceremony, Katherine reconciles with Jack, saying she is ready to welcome Jack's baby into their family.

Cast

Giulio Berruti makes an uncredited appearance.

Production

In June 2022, it was revealed that Scarlett Johansson and Kristin Scott Thomas were working together on a new film that was set to be the latter's first directing role.[3] That same month, Sienna Miller, Freida Pinto and Emily Beecham were added to the cast.[4] The semi-autobiographical film is based on Scott Thomas's own life growing up in a single-parent household without a father; her birth father and stepfather were both Royal Navy pilots who died in plane crashes when she was 5 and 11 years old, respectively.[5][6][7] Filming of a wedding took place on location in Hampshire at St Mary's Church, Ashley, and on parts of The Grange Hampshire estate near Northington in June 2022, while Johansson was reported to be filming naval scenes on HMS Prince of Wales in Portsmouth.[8][9][10]

Principal photography was reported as being completed by the end of July 2022, with Scott Thomas being quoted as saying she found the experience "exhilarating" and that it was "thrilling to create this fictional family using my own childhood memories as a springboard."[11][12] The film marks the third time that Scott Thomas and Johansson have played mother and daughter respectively, following The Horse Whisperer (1998) and The Other Boleyn Girl (2008).[13]

In July 2023, the film was renamed to North Star ahead of its world premiere.[14] In February 2025, the film was then renamed back to its original title after Vertical acquired North American distribution rights.[15]

Release

My Mother's Wedding had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on 7 September 2023.[14][16] The film was released in the United States on 8 August 2025 by Vertical[17] and in the United Kingdom on 29 May 2026 by Universal Pictures.[18][19]

Reception

Box office

My Mother's Wedding has grossed $1.3 million at the box office.[2]

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 41% of 61 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.2/10. The website's consensus reads: "My Mother's Wedding boasts appealing scenery and a wide array of talent, but fatal miscasting and a bloated story keep Kristin Scott Thomas' directorial debut from being a blessed event."[20] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 51 out of 100, based on 12 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.[21]

Lindsey Bahr of the Associated Press wrote that the film "has a silly lightness to it that's aiming for something along the lines of a Richard Curtis romantic comedy. But coherency of the vision is limited, as is the audience's investment, though there are some lovely and inspired touches like using Iranian artist Reza Riahi to hand paint several animated flashback vignettes based on her memories of her fathers."[22]

Nell Minow of RogerEbert.com gave the film two and a half out of four stars and wrote, "Rom-com fans may be amused to see Fleet and Scott Thomas together again after playing the wealthy siblings in Four Weddings and a Funeral." She also wrote, "The film was originally titled North Star. Yet, despite a few moments of connection and insight, that is precisely what this story is missing."[23]

References

  1. ↑ "My Mother's Wedding (15)". British Board of Film Classification. 12 February 2026. Retrieved 12 February 2026.
  2. 1 2 "My Mother's Wedding (2023)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 16 July 2026.
  3. ↑ Grobar, Matt (8 June 2022). "Scarlett Johansson To Star In Kristin Scott Thomas' Feature Directorial Debut 'My Mother's Wedding' – Update". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 8 June 2022. Retrieved 3 October 2022.
  4. ↑ D'Alessandro, Anthony; Grobar, Matt (8 June 2022). "Sienna Miller, Freida Pinto & Emily Beecham Join Scarlett Johansson In Kristin Scott Thomas' 'My Mother's Wedding'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 29 July 2022.
  5. ↑ Ford, Lily (7 August 2025). "Kristin Scott Thomas on Her Directorial Debut, Cold Calling Scarlett Johansson and Telling Her Family Story: "I Wanted to Do a Personal Project"". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 26 May 2026.
  6. ↑ Wood, Becca (8 August 2025). "Kristin Scott Thomas on the True Story that Inspired 'My Mother's Wedding'". Today. Retrieved 26 May 2026.
  7. ↑ Beauget-Uhl, Maelle (15 August 2025). "Kristin Scott Thomas On Her Directorial Debut 'My Mother's Wedding' And Reclaiming Her Story: 'It Is My Truth'". Forbes. Archived from the original on 15 August 2025. Retrieved 26 May 2026.
  8. ↑ Barber, Kimberley (9 June 2022). "Hollywood stars Scarlett Johansson and Sienna Miller pictured shooting film scenes in tiny Hampshire village". Hampshire Chronicle. Archived from the original on 9 August 2025.
  9. ↑ Bouchard, Adele (7 June 2022). "Scarlett Johansson spotted in Winchester Turtle Bay as actor films movie in Hampshire". Southern Daily Echo. Archived from the original on 3 February 2026.
  10. ↑ Callingham, Fiona (16 May 2022). "Avengers star Scarlett Johansson spotted on board HMS Prince of Wales as part of shooting for a new film". The News. Portsmouth. Archived from the original on 16 May 2022.
  11. ↑ Ntim, Zac (27 July 2022). "'My Mother's Wedding': First Look Image Of Kristin Scott Thomas' Directorial Debut Starring Scarlett Johansson". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 27 July 2022.
  12. ↑ Seth, Radhika (28 July 2022). "Sienna Miller And Scarlett Johansson Play Dysfunctional Sisters In Kristin Scott Thomas's Directorial Debut". British Vogue. Archived from the original on 29 July 2022.
  13. ↑ Echebiri, Makuochi (27 July 2022). "'My Mother's Wedding' Image: Kristin Scott Thomas' Directorial Debut is All About Sisterhood". Collider. Archived from the original on 20 September 2023. Retrieved 3 October 2022.
  14. 1 2 D'Alessandro, Anthony (24 July 2023). "TIFF Lineup Unveiled Amid Strikes: Awards Contenders 'Dumb Money', 'The Holdovers', 'Rustin'; Starry Pics For Sale With Scarlett Johansson, Kate Winslet, Michael Keaton, Viggo Mortensen & More". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 24 July 2023. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
  15. ↑ Grobar, Matt (12 February 2025). "Vertical Acquires Kristin Scott Thomas' Directorial Debut 'My Mother's Wedding' Starring Scarlett Johansson, Sienna Miller & Emily Beecham". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 30 March 2025.
  16. ↑ "North Star". Toronto International Film Festival. Retrieved 30 March 2025.
  17. ↑ Smart, Jack (23 June 2025). "Kristin Scott Thomas Pulls from Her Real Life to Direct Scarlett Johansson, Sienna Miller in 'My Mother's Wedding' Trailer". People. Retrieved 23 June 2025.
  18. ↑ "All Future Releases". Film Distributors' Association. Archived from the original on 26 May 2026. Retrieved 20 March 2026.
  19. ↑ Dalton, Ben (26 May 2026). "UK–Ireland film cinema release dates: latest updates for 2026". Screen Daily. Archived from the original on 26 May 2026. Retrieved 26 May 2026.
  20. ↑ "My Mother's Wedding". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 7 June 2026.
  21. ↑ "My Mother's Wedding". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved 7 June 2026.
  22. ↑ Bahr, Lindsey (6 August 2025). "Movie Review: Kristin Scott Thomas directs Scarlett Johansson in comedic drama 'My Mother's Wedding'". Associated Press. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
  23. ↑ Minow, Nell (August 2025). "My Mother's Wedding". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved 13 August 2025.
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