Emotional viewers have praised Kate Winslet and her daughter Mia Threapleton for their “moving” performances in new family drama I Am Ruth.
The actress, 47, and her real daughter Mia, 22, both starred in Channel 4’s hard-hitting show, which aired Thursday night.
Kate portrays worried mother Ruth as she tries to help her teenage daughter Freya (Mia) overcome a mental health crisis after facing social media pressure.
‘Powerful’: Emotional viewers have praised Kate Winslet and her daughter Mia Threapleton for their ‘moving’ performances in new family drama ‘I Am Ruth.’
And viewers were quick to praise Kate and Mia for their “powerful” performances in the drama, which they described as an “important” portrayal of mental health and social media.
Taking to Twitter, one person gushed: “Fantastic performance by mother and daughter, incredibly moving.”
Another tweeted: “Absolutely awesome and such an important topic. I’m so glad my daughter and I are now 5 years past this stage.
A third said: “Powerful drama, really good,” while a fourth added: “Excellent drama! Great portrait of mental health issues, parent-teen relationships and toxic social media.”
‘Moving’: The actress, 47, and her real daughter Mia, 22, both co-starred in the hard-hitting Channel 4 drama, which aired Thursday night
And a fifth wrote: “#IAmRuth – powerful & compelling – it highlights core themes for the #teenagebrain #familycommunication, #socialmedia & #mentalhealth. I will extract key sequences from it to use in teaching sessions.’
A sixth wrote: “I am Ruth was a powerful and moving story that I am sure thousands of people can relate to. Controlling your child’s emotions and mental health, as well as the services available, isn’t easy.
“Excellent acting! Great portrayal of mental health issues, parent-teen relationships and toxic social media,” added another.
I Am Ruth is a feature-length installment in the BAFTA-nominated female-directed drama anthology series I Am, created by filmmaker Dominic Savage.
Huge praise: Viewers were quick to praise Kate and Mia for their “strong” performances in the drama, which they described as an “important” portrayal of mental health and social media
Kate co-wrote the story, which was conceived about the endemic mental health crisis affecting young people.
“I Am Ruth” builds on the success of two previous “I Am” series and offers distinctive standalone films that explore the experience of women in emotionally raw, thought-provoking and personal moments.
It is Kate’s first time working with her daughter, who she shares with film director Jim Threapleton’s ex-husband.
Speaking about working with Mia, Kate recently admitted she was “blown away” by her daughter’s courage on set.
Drama: Kate portrays mother Ruth as she tries to help her teenage daughter Freya (Mia) overcome a mental health crisis after being consumed by social media pressures
Kate, a film industry veteran who appeared on Lorraine earlier this month, said her daughter Mia doesn’t need her advice and would even tell her to shut up.
The proud mum gushed about her daughter having a “power” she never had even as a young actress when discussing the experience of working with Mia.
She explained: “As far as performance goes, she didn’t need me at all. There were even moments when she looked at me and said, ‘Shut up mum, let me do this!’
“It was truly amazing to work with her and be blown away by her courage…she is very, very powerful.”
Mental Health: Kate co-wrote the story conceived about the endemic mental health crisis affecting young people
“I think this young generation of actors, I have to say, there’s a naturalism to their acting and they’re just braver,” she added.
“They have a voice, they speak for themselves and they have a power that I don’t think I ever really had.”
‘I’m very, very proud of [Mia]really very proud of her,’ added Kate.
The Mare of Easttown star also admitted that there was “some overlap” between her real-life role as Mia’s mother and her role as an on-screen parent in the drama.
Stars: It’s the first time Kate has worked with her daughter, who she shares with film director Jim Threapleton’s ex-husband
“Of course there would be some degree of overlap. We just wanted to do something that hopefully people would resonate with,” she said.
She continued to talk about her own experiences as a parent, admitting that it can be “very hard” to step back and let kids make their own decisions.
“It’s very, very hard to just trust that nowadays they know how to take care of themselves and how to take care of them… just what to say,” she said.
Proud mom: Speaking about working with Mia, Kate recently admitted she was “blown away” by her daughter’s courage on set
“Sometimes you just have to let them be and take a step back, and as a parent that’s very difficult.”
Discussing the improvisation in filming the drama, Kate said there were no scripted words and they had to invent it over time.
She explained: “There are no written words, it’s terrifying. They do it little by little, so it was really challenging and quite a tiring and demanding process.
“What you get to see are really exposed people and a lot of vulnerability.”
New Drama: I Am Ruth is a feature-length installment in the BAFTA-nominated, female-directed drama anthology series I Am, created by filmmaker Dominic Savage