Cotton Mary is a 1999 film directed by Ismail Merchant, best known as the producer half of Merchant Ivory and Madhur Jaffrey, actress and author of cookery books. It was filmed in India.
This film follows the story of a British woman living in India (Scacchi). She struggles during her birth and is in desperate need of a nanny. An Indian nurse known as Cotton Mary jumps to the opportunity. She seems kind at first, but her true nature gradually reveals itself as she manipulates everyone around her to get what she wants.
Actors: Ismail Merchant (director), Veerendra Saxena (actor), Greta Scacchi (actress), Neena Gupta (actress), Gemma Jones (actress), Parthiban Shanmugam (miscellaneous crew), Nadira (actress), Prayag Raj (actor), Captain Raju (actor), James Wilby (actor), Richard Robbins (composer), Madhur Jaffrey (director), Madhur Jaffrey (actress), Joanna David (actress), Surekha Sikri (actress),
Plot: 1954, the Malabar Coast. British and Anglo-Indian identities blur when an English-woman with a neglectful husband births a sickly baby. Cotton Mary, a hospital aide and moralizing Anglophile who claims her father was a British officer, takes over the infant's care and, without a word to the mother, takes the baby daily to her sister to nurse. Mary moves into the English household, taking over more and more duties as she plays on the mother's fatigue and lack of spousal counsel: in effect, Mary colonizes the English household while she pilfers its stores and tells tall tales to her own family. For how long can Mary sustain her rule before the Englishwoman stands on her own feet?
Keywords: 1950s, adultery, aunt-niece-relationship, breast-feeding, british, british-army-officer, character-name-in-title, colonialism, employer-employee-relationship, exoticaCotton Mary is a 1999 film directed by Ismail Merchant, best known as the producer half of Merchant Ivory and Madhur Jaffrey, actress and author of cookery books. It was filmed in India.
This film follows the story of a British woman living in India (Scacchi). She struggles during her birth and is in desperate need of a nanny. An Indian nurse known as Cotton Mary jumps to the opportunity. She seems kind at first, but her true nature gradually reveals itself as she manipulates everyone around her to get what she wants.
The Independent | 13 Sep 2018
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