Read Part 1 here.
I've written all these superlatives about this show, but I haven't even gotten to the one aspect of it that left me absolutely flummoxed, alternately in unbelieving awe and near tears at its total sublimity: the acting of Ashida Mana as the young girl whom Nao "kidnaps" and saves from abuse. I'd seen Ashida in Pacific Rim, playing the young Mako Mori, and I thought she was pretty good. Her palpable fear and, even better, her look of absolute adoration toward Idris Elba's character made up probably the best acting moments in that movie. (Not that she had a whole lot of competition, even though I really enjoyed the movie as a whole.) But her acting in Mother is something else entirely.
I don't expect much from child or teen actors because, for the most part, they're still learning their craft and the fundamentals of how people interact in different situations. (Plus, I think it's kind of mean to call out a kid for not being a good actor.) In elementary school, I acted in four plays--three tiny parts and one fairly substantial part. However, I barely knew what the heck I was doing and, dare I say, so did most of the other kids in those plays. Of course, they were all better actors than I was, but even at that age I recognized that, even though the directors were truly talented and endlessly forbearing, this was children's theater; the final production wouldn't really appeal to anyone who wasn't related to or friends with one of the actors. So I never expected Ashida to be one of the better actors in Mother, much less the best. I mean, given this story's premise, I thought her acting was going to be either a) a bit bratty and obnoxious, or b) so nauseatingly treacly and cloying as to make one's teeth fall out. (Sadly, that's how most of these characters turn out).
If nothing else, Ashida is the only actress whose performance has pushed me over the edge to moistened eyes--and four times at that. Her character, Rena, despite having suffered deplorable abuse, displays a veneer of cheerfulness to the outside world. Part of this joy stems from a warm and loving core that refuses to be snuffed out completely, but Nao soon realizes that Rena is repressing her darker emotions in an effort to make others happy so that, just maybe, they'll accept and love her back. The pair's first extended encounter takes place at a diner; Nao clearly wants to be left alone, but Rena, left unsupervised by her mother, detects that Nao is a soul who both needs companionship and could possibly offer comfort to the forlorn child. Sure, Rena's attempts to endear herself to this outwardly stoic woman are cute and all, but there is a desperation behind Rena's near-incessant chatting. When Nao eventually tells Rena to (basically) shut up, Rena complies with a wide, amiable smile. Of course, it's meant to be ingratiating, but Ashida acts with impressively natural grace so it doesn't feel forced, manipulative, or tacky--which is probably how it would have come across if pretty much any other child actor (and many adult actors) had done the role.
Ashida not only embodies Rena's character to an uncanny extent, but she is also able to portray the character's inner desperation just peeking out from under her ebullient exterior. It's difficult for me, as an adult writer, to write lines for a character whose inner qualities are barely perceptible beneath a masked facade. That a five-year-old can so fearlessly yet naturally portray such a character is incredible. When I was five, my biggest challenge was deciding whether to read a book or play Reader Rabbit (which taught me the word "keg") on the Apple II during Free Choice.
As you can imagine, it's all the more heart-wrenching when Rena's despair breaks through her sunniness. There are at least four scenes (the ones that moistened my eyes) where Rena is trying so hard not to let her sadness break through and overwhelm her, but she just can't. And while it's happening, she's still trying like heck to stifle it, but the emotion just overwhelms her, coming out in agonizing spurts. These scenes, while profoundly heartbreaking to watch, also offer the sublime brilliance of an actress who understands how to portray such sadness. I know nothing about Ashida's personal life, but I'm willing to wager that she's been through nothing close to what Rena goes through. I don't know how much of the specifics she actually understood about her character's situation, but what's important is that her reactions and emotions are spot-on, imbued with compassionate sympathy. One truly feels that she is acting and reacting in the moment as a real child in that situation would; there is no visible sign of premeditation or preparation that you can find even in some very good actors--child or adult. Of course, credit must also go to the penetratingly astute writing of Sakamoto Yuji and the sensitive directing of Mizuta Nobuo and Naganuma Makoto, all of whom drew the best out of not only Ashida, but the rest of the cast as well.
Ashida went on to star in several other OK to good dramas--Usagi Drop, Sayonara Bokutachi no Youchien (written by Mother screenwriter Sakamoto Yuji), Beautiful Rain, and Marumo no Okite. All great performances, but her other non-Mother performance that utterly floored me was Ashita Mama ga Inai. She's apparently a singing sensation in Japan too, but what can I say, she just sounds like a moderately above-average kid singer. It is her acting, infused with preternatural empathy and understanding of human feeling, where her true and considerable talent lies.
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