What secrets lie in the past of The Mother? As an Army-trained sniper who emerges from hiding to defend the daughter she was forced to give up years before, Jennifer Lopez has made her triumphant return to the action genre. Now, new extended flashbacks shared by director Niki Caro will allow fans to immerse themselves in the world a little longer. This new footage shines new light on the Mother’s relationships with Adrian Lovell and Hector Álvarez (Joseph Fiennes and Gael García Bernal, respectively), the two men who hunt her daughter down in the present. 

Of course, these former flames of the Mother have met more than their match in the steely and efficient Lopez. “As far as I was concerned, she’s the only person that could play that role,” Caro tells Tudum. “And I was the only person that could direct it.” 

You can check out five extended flashback scenes below with commentary by Caro below. 

The sniper range

“[This is] where we learn how the Mother and Adrian Lovell met,” Caro explains. “Lovell is the instructor of an elite sniper unit in Afghanistan. In this scene, the soldiers are doing stress test drills, elevating their heart rates before they identify and shoot targets in mountain desert landscape. Each soldier wears a heart rate monitor.  We see the soldiers miss their targets as their heart rates climb. Only the Mother is able to control her heart rate and achieve perfect accuracy. Adrian Lovell is intrigued.”

Hector’s apartment

“In this flashback scene, we see a little of the volatility in the Mother’s relationship with Hector Álvarez,” Caro says. “They’re dressing for a meeting with Adrian. Hector is angry and frustrated. He doesn’t see why he has to get dressed up or why he needs to meet Adrian at all. Havana is Hector’s territory, and he doesn’t want to share it. The Mother easily calms him, explaining why the deal will be good for him. We see the intense physical attraction between the two and how easy this makes it for the Mother to manage Hector and keep him under her control.”

Staircase, Havana Private Club

“The Mother and Hector arrive at a private club in Havana for their rendezvous with Adrian,” Caro says. “The Mother has dressed for the occasion.  The costume choice for this sequence was critical.  The shot was designed to follow the pair up a grand staircase, and reveal the dress as the shot evolved.  We’d always been certain that a backless dress was what the scene needed, but what I love about the image is how strong her back muscles are.  This is the vibe of the Mother in this period of her life - a femme fatale, but also someone who is strong, strategic, and deadly when she needs to be.”

Adrian’s Villa

“[This is] the first meeting between Adrian Lovell and Hector Alvarez, brokered by the Mother,” Caro explains. “We see the stark difference between the two men. Adrian’s sophistication and control vs. Hector’s confidence and swagger. The Mother tries to keep the business meeting professional, but Hector has other ideas. Adrian is puzzled by what the Mother sees in Hector, and curious about a possible business deal.  He makes his attraction to the Mother clear.  We see the Mother handle this combustible situation, more than aware of the dangerous line she is walking in manipulating both men.”

Champagne and Cigars

“The Mother and Adrian dance, sealing the deal the Mother has brokered,” Caro says. “The Mother now has both men under her control. Afterwards, the new business partners celebrate. Adrian orders champagne and invites Hector to open the bottle so they can toast to a new world of possibility opening up for him.  Hector is less than thrilled at being coerced into the deal, and struggles to open the champagne. As Hector wrestles with the bottle, Adrian openly flirts with the Mother, who silently flirts back.”