You Are Not My Mother

Char is a quiet teenager who lives in a North Dublin housing estate with her mother Angela and grandmother Rita. Angela has been unwell and often stays in bed, so Char carries adult worries while trying to survive school. After Angela disappears and returns acting like a different person, Char tries to learn what happened. The movie uses a slow, tense style and mixes family drama with disturbing supernatural horror drawn from old Irish stories about fairy beings that replace people.

The story puts three generations of women at the center, and most important characters are female. The film also hints at a queer bond between Char and her school friend Suzanne. The film gives this relationship only a few quiet moments, so it does not become the main plot. The main themes are family pain, mental illness, bullying, growing up too soon, and old Irish beliefs rather than modern political activism.