The Slater character was not made particularly likeable.
The only crime 'Mrs Potter' was guilty of was not being his mother, and he appeared to treat her like dirt.
Having said that, I like Nigel Slater and that won't change.
I just think the scriptwriters of this thing could have made him much more likeable therefore allowing viewers to be more sympathetic towards the character.
Really? i liked him, and i understood why he hated her so much. of course, he would feel that way (not liking her because shes not his mother), but i dont think she was nice to him at all. except for the end of course, at which she tried as she realised he was all she had left.
shareI read the book acouple of years ago and loved it. I enjoyed this drama but was disappointed they left so much out. In the book Nigel admits Mrs. Potter wasn't a complete baddie, for example she used to stick up for him and defend him when he hadn't done his homework. Also I his dad used to leave him a marshmallow by his bed every night as a 'kiss'after his Mum died. Just little things like that put a different perspective on the story.
sharehttp://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1345405/Nigel-Slaters-stepsi sters-accuse-food-writer-cruel-lies-mother-seeing-BBCs-Toast.html
He was hardly all she had left when she had two daughters, one of whom was living with her most of the time alongside Nigel.
The liberties taken with the truth make it even more baffling to me why Slater was portrayed as such an ass in the film. If they were going to lie about so much then why not go the whole hog and make him look likeable. I am so perplexed by what they were trying to achieve with this film.
You're citing the Daily Mail? They take more liberties with the truth than anyone, with the possible exception of The Sun. They even managed to use it as yet another jab about "licence payers money"..
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Agreed. I saw the movie and was just about to start the topic asking if anyone thought Mrs Potter was treated badly by Nigel, but I can see more than a few of us noticed that. I realize a mother is irreplaceable and, in this case, Mrs Potter shouldn't have reacted to Nigel's competitiveness, but overall, Nigel's behavior is extremely childish.
shareI agree. From what was shown in the film, I felt rather bad for her in the end. She finally turned around, yet Slater still refused to give her a chance. Sure, she was very competitive with him when his father was still alive, but that's all that was really "wrong" of her. Ultimately, she still took care of him.
shareLol, you totally reminded me of a Curb scene, see it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhyGlGgXMxY&hd=1
What bothered me the most was the line they put in the end of the movie, that Nigel never even spoke to Mrs. Potter again. I was hoping, he'll grow up, forgive her and apologize himself. I never read the book and don't know anything about the main character, but from the movie I personally didn't find Mrs. Potters character that awful. There are much worse stepmothers :).
shareI think no one on this thread has look into the movie in a deeper way. You only see the basic "Nigel was bad because he mistreated her" and don't address the most obvious thing: His father was a very cold man. When his mum dies, he craves for more attention from his father, a gesture of love but the father only pays attention to the cleaner.
So Nigel starts to dislike her more and more. If you then add the "competition" thing going on between them and the fact that apart from looking after his basic needs she didn't show any love for him either then it should be quite obvious.
I hope this helps clarify it for those who haven't understood :)
Cheerio!
She shouldn't need to show him any love because he was an ass to her from the start. Yeah, sure, he was a child, but she took *beep* from him as long as he lived. I didn't even realise the film was trying to portray her as a "bad" person until the end when that smug bastard went on his little ending victory stroll. I figured it was supposed to be amusing that they had that rivalry thing between them. If she was supposed to be bad, the storytellers failed miserably. He was a *beep* who didn't deserve any love at that point. It wasn't her fault that his mother died, it wasn't her fault that his father was cold to him. Still he went on with his hatefilled attitude, not to mention all the talk about how she was a just a commoner who lived in a "council" apartment. And the film let's him get away with it by portraying him as some kind of hero in the end.
shareYou totally missed the point of this movie. Mrs. Potter was no saint, and I cannot believe all these sympathy posts I've been reading about her. She is an adult. Nigel was a child. He had a reason for his behavior. Did she?
Still he went on with his hatefilled attitude, not to mention all the talk about how she was a just a commoner who lived in a "council" apartment. And the film let's him get away with it by portraying him as some kind of hero in the end.