Martha & Tommy (2020)

Martha is a retired doctor. She has been married three times and lives alone in a top-floor apartment in Hamburg. She is the heart and soul of the apartment building, helping the neighborhood children with their homework and always lending a hand when someone has a medical problem. When the brothers Tommy and Winnie move into the building, Martha’s life changes too. Winnie is a good student and gets along well with Martha, who often has him over at her apartment when Tommy is out. Tommy is studying law, but also makes extra money in the evenings fighting in mixed martial arts bouts. Unlike Winnie, Tommy is much less receptive to Martha’s offers of help and is more guarded in general. Their father, Viktor, is a star pianist who killed the boys’ mother in a fit of rage years ago. Now Tommy has another problem: he learns that his father has been released from prison and is demanding custody of Winnie. His father has plenty of money and the best lawyers, while Tommy is in debt. Tommy finds support in Martha’s friend Max, who runs a boxing club, and also gets the chance to earn enough money to pay off his debts in one last fight. Max tells Tommy about Martha’s past: her daughter took her own life, which is why Martha puts on such a strong front. Knowing that Tommy is a talented pianist, Martha gives him her daughter’s piano. Tommy, who was once seen as his father’s successor because of his talent but despises him deeply, impulsively attacks the instrument with a baseball bat. Tommy and Martha are both struggling with their pasts, and this brings them together. Viktor gets in touch with Winnie, who had believed that both his parents were dead. Winnie feels that Tommy has lied to him, but Tommy insists that he has always wanted and done what was best for him. Martha, who by now knows all about what has happened, even goes to Viktor and asks him to let Winnie stay with his brother. But Viktor brushes her off; he is still hurt that Tommy did not follow in his footsteps. Tommy fights his last bout. By the time Max and Martha arrive, Tommy has already been badly beaten, so Martha asks Max to do something. Instead, Max tells Tommy that his father has bet against him, which spurs Tommy to win the fight. Tommy eventually decides to let Winnie go to their father so that Winnie will have a good life. Viktor is not very warm even during this final conversation. Tommy asks his father what he considers to be Chopin’s most difficult piece. Tommy later records it and sends it to Martha as an MP3. He gets into his car and leaves Hamburg behind.