Mother Knows Best is a sharp, emotional cautionary tale about loneliness, control, and the cost of unhealed wounds. Liza, an aging Italian widow living with buried secrets and racial scars, is dangerously dependent on her only son, Donnie. When he becomes engaged to Emma—a kind, accomplished Jewish doctor—Liza launches a calculated campaign to sabotage the relationship, enlisting manipulation, cruelty, and even Donnie’s Italian ex-girlfriend to reclaim her grip on him.

But Liza underestimates Emma’s strength and integrity, as well as Donnie’s desire to escape a toxic bond and build a healthier future. As tensions escalate and truths unravel, a near-death experience forces Liza to confront her past and rediscover the person she once was. The film explores whether love can survive manipulation—and whether self-acceptance and redemption are possible at any age.