The Story
Under the guise of a summer road trip, Olivia and her daughter Abby move into their minivan and set off on a journey across the Southwest.
When Olivia and Abby meet a mysterious cowboy along their travels, the pressure to keep their situation—and their past—a secret starts to crack the foundation Olivia has created to protect her daughter’s innocence. They’re not on a road trip, they’re on the run.
Upon confronting this reality, Olivia and Abby decide to make the most out of their time together on the road and continue their way west down Route 66, abandoning the shame around their situation and embracing the hope of starting a new life somewhere else.
They reach the Pacific Ocean in time to watch the sunset, hoping to see the green flash as the sun sinks into the water; a symbol of good fortune.
A western road film, Mother Road is an exploration of what the American Dream really means, who’s allowed to have it, and the pressures women living in poverty face.
The Characters
OLIVIA
Olivia is a warm woman who’s been worn down. Down on her luck after divorcing Abby’s father, Olivia is desperate to start over and give her daughter a good life. But the pressure to protect her daughter’s innocence from their situation challenges Olivia to either appear to be a good mom or be the mother Abby actually needs.
ABBY
Abby is a sensitive and precocious 10 year-old on the edge of childhood. She’s quiet, curious, and observant, which allows her to overhear conversations she shouldn’t, pick-pocket with ease, and charm her way out of trouble. Most of the time…
SAM
Sam is a gentle, blue-collar cowboy who has the best of intentions, until someone crosses him.
What is the
‘Mother Road’?
The title for this film is inspired the term John Steinbeck used for Route 66 in his great American epic The Grapes of Wrath.
The idea of a road being a place of salvation, reinvention, and a home in itself resonated when I was first developing this project for AFI.
The contrast between an open highway feeling like freedom and discovery while also being a lifeline for this mother and daughter escaping a troubled past felt like the perfect setting for this film. Route 66 is their road to hope.
- Arabella Anderson, writer & director