Mother and Child (2009)

the audience applauded

So much average

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

Mother and Child is a Crash type movie where unrelated characters of different races come together or become related by the end. The Watts character is the daughter given up years ago by the Benning character and they are seriously troubled because of it. Annette is a spinster who distrusts men and Watts is a psychopath who manipulates them. What develops is both meet kindly coworkers or neighbors that eventually melt their hearts and all ends happily. It is a well made film with great direction and acting if you are a true believer in humanism. The left sees people as troubled but good deep inside except for conservatives who are evil through and through. The right see people as troubled who act good (to maintain social order), may become better through suffering, but basically are fallen. My view is closer to the second.That distinction explains why this move is unrealistic. With so much unhappiness they wouldn't have waited 37 years. Second you can't melt the heats of troubled people. If you spend time around them you'll become troubled also.. The message I received was that promiscuity is dangerous and if you want to be a mother you wait until you are mature, find the right partner, then have children if it is affordable and wanted. Otherwise revert to adoption. Finally, everyone in this movie would have lawyered up which makes me ask why basically good people are so litigious all the time? Why don't they just sit around all day affecting others lovingly and forget about working in law, social services, or whatever? Too many contradictions in that belief and feelings seldom make sense. Suffering follows close behind.

From the beginning of this movie, I was sucked in. There are three stories, interwoven, that deal with adoption.This movie deals with various aspects of adoption, from closed adoption to the fears of giving a baby away for adoption to what it means to have an adopted child.I had no idea how everything would fit together, but the way the stories were interwoven, the movie just flowed very nicely and was very well- written. It was very easy to follow.Some of the end is difficult, so brace yourselves for crying. Have a few tissues set aside. However difficult the ending is, it is absolutely beautiful. No other words to explain it. Magnificently done.

I loved this movie, in spite of its flaws. The biggest flaw was a script that seemed like a soap opera, with tricks and scenes that made me squirm in disbelief. Another was the sappy music, lifted from the slow movement of Ravel's G Major Piano Concerto, but altered to make it a lot less interesting.So why was the movie good? Acting! There were lots of meaty parts, and every actor was a joy to watch. The movie was also quite interesting visually. It had a very comfortable pace to it, leisurely, but not too slow. And it had a great moral: your time on earth is short, and you only get one chance. Most of the main characters live a troubled life in some way. Some of them manage to nudge themselves towards happiness, and others do not. The movie manages to be both sad and hopeful. When it was over, I wanted to watch it again.

There is some excellent acting and very realistic dialog from this interesting and involving movie about mothers and daughters and adoption. The dividing lines between race and blood ties are explored here. This is an intense and human drama.Annette Benning delivers a great performance. She really got a bitter caustic expression perfectly. It is interesting to see the lovely Naomi Watts playing a damaged character.After all the depressing things earlier I wish Naomi's character had lived and there could have been a reunion between mother and daughter.Overall worth a watch for the great performances but feels a bit sad.