if you’re in the mood for a compelling period drama, I have some good news for you. Olivia Colman’s heart-wrenching film Mothering Sunday has just landed on a free UK streaming platform, and it could be one for your watchlist this week.

Starring Josh O’Connor, Olivia Colman and Colin Firth, the 2021 historical drama follows Jane Fairchild (Odessa Young), a young maid who has fallen into a secret love affair with her next door neighbour’s son Paul Sheringham (O’Connor).

Set in the Roaring Twenties, the film is directed by French filmmaker Eva Husson (Girls of the Sun), written by Alice Birch (Lady Macbeth) and adapted from the 2016 novella by Graham Swift.

Downton Abbey fans will love this one. Not only does it boast a stellar cast led by British acting royalty Olivia Colman and Colin Firth, but it also earned Colman a nomination for British/Irish Actress of the Year at the London Critics Circle Film Awards in 2022. Plus, it has just landed on Channel 4’s streaming service, making it free to watch in the UK for the next 30 days.

Odessa Young and Josh O'Connor play the two lovers© Alamy Stock Photo
Odessa Young and Josh O’Connor play the two lovers

Mothering Sunday Rotten Tomatoes score

The film was a hit with critics, who gave it a 77% combined score on Rotten Tomatoes. In its four-star review, The Guardian wrote: “Alice Birch’s finely wrought script does an impressive job of capturing Jane’s emergent literary powers, allowing her creative abilities to grow organically on screen across disparate time periods.”

Meanwhile, the Globe and Mail said: “Mothering Sunday, a heart-wrenching drama directed by Eva Husson and based on the novel by Graham Swift, shows that people are more than what they do. They are also the sum of their traumas.”

The Times added: “The drama is so strong, Husson’s direction so assured and Young’s performance (mostly) so commanding – it really is one of the year’s big ‘uns – that the film could feature cameo turns from the Boss Baby and the cast of Cats and you’d still accept it as a thoughtful and deeply affecting meditation on the loneliness of the lifelong writer.”

Colin Firth plays Godfrey Niven© Alamy Stock Photo
Colin Firth plays Godfrey Niven

What happens in Mothering Sunday?

Set in 1924, the film charts the story of housemaid Jane, who finds herself alone on Mother’s Day.

The synopsis continues: “Her employers, Mr. and Mrs. Niven, are out and she has the rare chance to spend quality time with her secret lover.

“Paul is the boy from the manor house nearby, Jane’s long-term love despite the fact that he’s engaged to be married to another woman, a childhood friend and daughter of his parents’ friends.

“But events that neither can foresee will change the course of Jane’s life forever.”

Who stars in Mothering Sunday?

Odessa Young leads the cast as Jane Fairchild, with Josh O’Connor as Paul Sheringham.

They are joined by Colin Firth, Olivia Colman, Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù, Emma D’Arcy, Nathan Chester Reeve and Samuel Barlow.