A simple premise turns into something remarkably special in this uplifting comedy-drama from director Darren Thornton. Four Mothers follows YA novelist Edward (James McArdle), who’s balancing two major life shifts: taking round-the-clock care of his mother Alma (Fionnula Flanagan) following a stroke that’s left her unable to speak, whilst finding himself on the cusp of literary success with a book whose LGBTQ+ storyline echoes his own teenage coming out experience. Faced with looking after not one but four elderly matriarchs when his friends jet off to Maspalomas Pride, abandoning their mothers in his care, the story that follows could have veered into cartoonish, zany territory. Instead, it’s the most heartwarming film you’ll see all year.

Tonally it shares DNA with 2014’s Pride, mixing its signature style of acerbic comedy with its more serious subject matters – the death or ailing status of a parent, the trauma of coming out to unaccepting parents. It’s unlikely to gain the same status that Pride has, lacking the big names and historical 80s weight of that film, but what it does have is heart – and plenty of it. Much of this rests on the writing, but James McArdle’s performance is superb. A Scottish actor adopting a convincing Irish brogue, he’s wholly believable as the mild-mannered, self-sacrificing Edward. Bafflingly, it’s his first film lead after a slew of supporting roles in TV (Playing Nice, Mare of Easttown), as carries top billing off well. You root for him in every scene, whether it’s his jittery phone interviews with American publishers and podcasters, generally conducted from the car (or in one scene, the toilet, as he strives to assist Alma with her new litany of needs), or reluctantly shepherding his four elderly charges to Galway on a road trip they insist on pursuing. His romantic life – or lack of it – adds another layer of depth, especially in his lingering feelings for ex-boyfriend Raf (Gaetan Garcia), who’s recently moved on. He’s so ready to inconvenience himself, the eternal people-pleaser, you often wish he’d inject himself with more self-respect. “You’re going to stop looking after others and start taking care of yourself,” one character tells him, and you can’t help but agree. While it requires some suspension of disbelief that Edward’s friends would stoop low enough to offload their mothers onto him for a weekend, the script and performances make it plausible.

In among the tenderness and comedy is a dextrous handling of more poignant themes. Each of the four mothers alongside Alma – who consist of Jean (Dearbhla Molloy), Maude (Stella McCusker), and Rosey (Paddy Glynn) – feel quintessentially different, and particularly real, not just caricatures of cantankerous old ladies, and the disparity between them adds additional ideas around the generational gap, one of the key’s many topics. In one instance, Edward confronts his friend’s mother Jean, calling out her generation’s parenting choices. “It never did you any harm!” she snipes back at him, failing to realise that none of his friends are bastions of security or a testament to good parenting. Before Edward can correct her, she nods off mid-conversation, a punchline that lands perfectly.

Communication barriers between the generations are deftly explored in scenes like this one, and it’s a fittingly apt plot device that Edward’s mother Alma has lost the ability to speak. Fionnula Flanagan is brilliant as Alma, managing to convey a roster of emotions without moving her lips. You’d be hard-pressed not to shed a tear when Alma confronts Edward about his decisions and types into her speaking device: “Live your life.”

Endlessly charming, Four Mothers is a perfect crowd-pleaser. It treads a delicate tightrope, being sweet throughout without ever straying into saccharine, which makes it clear why it won the Audience Award at the BFI London Film Festival. The final sequence, all filmed inventively on mobile phones as the credits roll, is a fittingly sweet-natured as anything we’ve seen before it.

Funny and bursting with heart, Four Mothers is one of the warmest films of the year. Watch it, and then immediately call your mum.

Four Mothers is released in UK and Irish cinemas on 4th April 

The film also screens at BFI Flare: London LGBTQIA+ Film Festival on 28th and 30th March