Mama's Boy is a documentary film directed by Dustin Lance Black, who is known for being a prominent LGBTQ+ rights activist and for writing the Academy Award-winning script for the movie, Milk. The film is a personal and intimate exploration of Black's life, focusing on his relationship with his mother, Anne, and how her strength and resilience helped shape his own beliefs and activism.
The film takes viewers on a journey through Black's life, as he revisits the places where he grew up, including his childhood home in Texas and his Mormon community in California. Through personal photographs and candid interviews with family, friends, and colleagues, Black pieces together his own personal history and reflects on the impact his mother had on his life.
Anne is portrayed as a remarkable woman who overcame many challenges in her life, including growing up with polio, surviving abusive marriages, and navigating her own faith and beliefs within the Mormon community. Through it all, she remained a loving and supportive presence in Black's life, even after he came out as gay and left the church.
The film explores themes of sexuality, family, religion, and activism, as Black tries to come to terms with his own identity and the influence his upbringing had on his beliefs. Ultimately, Mama's Boy is a celebration of the power of love and the bonds that tie families together, even in the face of adversity.
