Mother and Child

Mother and Child_360P

source: Mother and Child

In this well written & directed drama,we get three tales of child/parent relationship (or the lack of,thereof). In the prologue,a young girl is about to experience her first sexual encounter. Flash forward some thirty plus years later,and we are introduced to Karen,a fifty something who has a chip on her shoulder,and an attitude problem (especially regarding men). We find out that she gave up a baby for adoption at the age of fourteen. We are also introduced to Elizabeth,a high profile hot shot lawyer,who has been on her own since the tender age of seventeen. Elizabeth,like any respectable lawyer (is there even such a thing?),will do anything to claw her way to the top of the corporate ladder. This is evident when she takes on a new job in a law firm,where she starts an affair with her boss. The third tale is a young African American couple who want nothing more in life than to adopt a baby (as they have been unable to have one of their own by natural causes). They are meeting with a young pregnant woman who seems to have an agenda of her own. Through the use of over lapping narratives,we get three takes on what it means to want to be a mother (or not). The superb ensemble includes,Annette Bening as Karen,a woman who is carrying years of regret for giving up her baby. Naomi Watts is Elizabeth,a woman with a mysterious past. Kerry Washington as Lucy,who wants nothing more than to experience the joys of motherhood. David Ramsey as Joseph. The great Samuel L.Jackson as Paul,Elizabeth's boss (and lover). Jimmy Smits as Paco,one of Karen's fellow workers who has an eye for Karen,despite her toxic attitude. And also featuring Alexandra M.Salling,Conner Kramme,Cherry Jones & Lisa Gay Hamilton (where has she been lately?). Rodrigo Garcia writes & directs this multi layered story of searching,with Alfonso Cuaron & Guillermo Del Toro as executive producers. This film will probably be unfairly be labeled a "chick flick",but don't let that sway you from seeing a well written,directed & acted ensemble piece. Rated 'R' by the MPAA,for outbursts of strong language,sexual content & brief nudity

***Alert: May allude to some scenes and themes that could contain what some might deem "spoilers."*** As someone else said: "Wow, where do I start?" ... I LOVED this movie. I was not familiar with the director's previous work, but he is definitely on my radar now. The cast was incredible. What a fantastic mix of people. I mean, come on, Samuel L. Jackson, Annette Bening, Naomi Watts, Elizabeth Peña, and Jimmy Smits. And those are just the "big" stars. The rest of the cast was equally outstanding. One standout performance was given by the beautiful Kerry Washington. So incredibly powerful. But, what really blew me away about this film was the authenticity of the many themes about life, love, family, children, parenthood, hope, loss and redemption that the director wove together so brilliantly. The screenplay resonated with me on so many levels. The dialogue rang true on so many levels. I'm sorry to say I don't know her name, but the actress who portrayed Washington's mother was incredible, too. The monologue she delivered during the scene where her daughter is struggling with new motherhood is golden. She delivered her lines with the authenticity of a woman who has lived a full and rich life. Just dynamite. I can't say more. Loved her! The funny story is that I had already watched this movie on cable alone, but re- ordered it through Netflix to see if my husband might be interested in watching it. I was worried he'd dismiss it as a "chick flick," (such a sexist term, BTW), but he became instantly absorbed in the story, and wound up loving it, too. He was haunted for days, remembering Watts' performance and the destiny of her character. Someone here gave the film a low rating because she didn't like the characters. She found the women, particularly, unlovable, and without redemption. But that's just one of the many themes that makes this film so outstanding. People are not perfect. We fall in love with each other, despite our shortcomings, thankfully. I thought the script, performances and direction were all very subtle in conveying these complex and multitextured human realities. Just beautiful.

This film is another triumph from Rodrigo García and Alejandro González Iñárritu - two of the most gifted artists in film today. Written and directed by Rodrigo García (with his partner in the guiding role of producer) MOTHER AND CHILD is another means of telling stories that intertwines many lives that are united in fascinating and meaningful, purposeful ways. The film is a discourse on motherhood in all its parameters: rarely has this familiar subject been treated with deeper understanding and probing intelligence and emotion. Opening in black and white we see a young 14 year old girl having what seems to be her first physical encounter with a boy. The film then jumps forward 37 years and gradually each of the characters is introduced. Karen (Annette Bening in a stunning performance) is an acerbic, lonely physical therapist caring for her aged mother (with the help of housekeeper Sofia (Elpidia Carrillo) whose young daughter Cristi (Simone Lopez) accompanies her loving mother when Cristi is not in school - an aggravating nuisance to Karen who is rigidly attempting to keep her life in order. Karen, we learn, has a 37 year old daughter Elizabeth (Naomi Watts) she gave up for adoption but who haunts her every moment sad and guilt ridden moment as she cares for her dying mother. Elizabeth (who has never investigated her birth mother but instead has lived a life of being alone and driven to be a successful lawyer) is interviewed by a powerful attorney Paul (Samuel L. Jackson) for an important position in a major law firm in Los Angeles. Though Elizabeth's heart seems frozen she knows how to get what she wants and manages to seduce Paul, while carrying on an affair with her next door neighbor Steven (Marc Blucas) who is married to a very pregnant Tracy (Carla Gallo). Despite the fact that Elizabeth had an elective tubal ligation at age 17 she becomes pregnant with Paul's child, decides to keep the child but to move away from Paul, and finds a job elsewhere awaiting the birth of her baby, endangered by a diagnosis of placenta previa. At work Karen meets widower Paco (Jimmy Smits) and after multiple insulting encounters with him begins to date Paco, who in turn helps Karen unravel her life long agony for giving up her child Elizabeth for adoption. They meet with Sister Joanne (Cherry Jones) who runs the adoption agency and Karen places a letter in the file of the girl she has never met. By coincidence Elizabeth also places a letter in the file as she grows fond of being pregnant. And in another important sidebar episode a young barren couple Lucy (Kerry Washington) and Joseph (David Ramsey) decide to adopt a child: Lucy runs a bakery with her mother Ada (S. Epatha Merkerson, another brilliant though subdued role for this gifted actress) and Joseph's parents are against the idea of Joseph not finding someone who can produce HIS child. The couple meets with Sister Joanne who in turn introduces a feisty young pregnant Leticia (Lisa Gay Hamilton) who reluctantly agrees under her own terms that Lucy and Joseph can adopt her imminent fetus. Things happen and each of these characters changes, no plan turns out as predicted, yet everything comes together in the strangest of ways. The movie successfully examines the mother/child relationship with five stories that are intimately connected - but we don't know until the end just how these connections play out. The entire cast - which also includes the gifts of Elizabeth Peña, David Morse, Shareeka Epps, Amy Brenneman, Tatyana Ali , Eileen Ryan, and more - is committed and credible. Every aspect of this film is brilliantly conceived and executed. It deserves the highest awards. Highly Recommended. Grady Harp

Yes the actors are great and I like the emotions in their faces. They are superb in their acting and blah blah blah The true question is not if the actors are good, the question is why in the name of Earth, were all these good actors/actresses in this movie with such a horrendous theme. Yes, for those who haven's seen the movie…please don't, the theme of the movie is bad, really – really bad. The movie is a ride into the idea that, 'Do not Adopt and do not give for adoption children, if you do, the child and you, will be destroyed forever and ever…oh and adoption is not natural so…DON'T DO IT! Just don't!' Cripes sake! Keep away from this kind of movies…THEY are the devil!

I thought at the outset this was going to be a good movie. As a mother with two children of my own, one child from India and an open adoption of three children from Mexico I found this movie contrived and unbelievable so they lost me early on. I thought the men who loved these unpleasant women were a bit hard to swallow, the pleasant husband who suddenly wanted his own kid was equally unbelievable. Not that men could not like difficult woman but there really has to be something that compensates for this, which renders the woman appealing in some way, if only in that they desire S& M. Men who like their wives who have good wives and no personality themselves do not leave them because they are wanting a child of their own, suddenly developing a back bone. The movie turned into a life time channel movie and in the end I just did not care. Women do not die in childbirth, their kids do not live down the street from Grandma who has suddenly become nice, hysterical mothers do not become good mothers. One or two conceits are OK but short of some good performances don't waste your time. I don't know how the writer managed to get his script through without editing.

In Los Angeles, the therapist Karen (Annette Bening) is a bitter woman that nurses her terminal mother Nora with the support of her maid Tracy (Carla Gallo) that has a little daughter. Karen misses her unknown daughter that she gave for adoption thirty-seven years ago when she was fourteen years old. Her new colleague Paco (Jimmy Smits), who is a widower, is a gentle man and courts the unpleasant Karen. The bakery owner Lucy (Kerry Washington) wishes desperately to adopt a child since she can not have a baby but her husband Joseph (David Ramsey) is not supportive to the idea. The efficient lawyer Elizabeth (Naomi Watts), who is Karen's daughter, is an independent and promiscuous woman that does not want to have a baby and has tubal ligation. When she joins the law firm of Paul (Samuel Jackson), she has a love affair with him and becomes his mistress. When Nora passes away, she feels a great need to know Elizabeth. She marries Paco and his daughter Maria, who is a religious woman, convinces her to seek out Elizabeth. When Lucy meets the single mother Ray (Shareeka Epps), who is a demanding woman, Joseph leaves her since he does not want to raise a foster child. When Elizabeth finds that she is pregnant, she quits her job in Paul's firm and works as secretary in a small company. Their lives will be entwined in very dramatic situations. "Mother and Child" is a powerful drama about different views and feelings about motherhood. The therapist Karen has never overcome the loss of her daughter for adoption. The infertile baker Lucy wants to be a mother and her desire costs her marriage. The lawyer Elizabeth is traumatized by her childhood and is an independent woman that does not want to have a baby and ironically gets pregnant. In the end, there is redemption with the second chance for Karen. My vote is seven. Title (Brazil): "Destinos Ligados" ("Connected Destinies")

Diane and I just saw this film in Fremantle and we were both totally absorbed by the strength, truth and integrity of it. The IMDb comments from viewers have noted the extraordinarily rich acting by all the people in this project; it is as if they were working at a higher level because they felt the power of the script and wanted to give the film the very best performance they could muster. It was similar to hearing our local chamber orchestra that seemed, at least to Diane and me, to rise above their normal excellent work and give tremendous support to a recognized Swiss violinist in concert with him. Other commentators have mentioned academy award strength in these performances and I can certainly accede to these opinions. We were impressed by the script which assumed that the audience could follow the pastiche lives of the four women involved in these all too real life situations. We thought that the writer who also directed this beautiful film understood and dealt sympathetically with the jigsaw of their lives as those lives unfolded. Don't read too carefully about the plot; I would suggest that you just take a seat and become absorbed in this tremendously sympathetic view of all that transpires on the screen. It is a gem not to be missed.

There have been a few movies about adoption, but probably none so profound as Rodrigo García's "Mother and Child". It depicts three separate stories, which despite their distinction share a link. Karen (Annette Bening) is an embittered nurse who many years earlier gave up her daughter for adoption. The daughter (Naomi Watts) is now grown up and calling herself Elizabeth, working in a law firm headed by the upstanding Paul (Samuel L. Jackson). Meanwhile, baker Lucy (Kerry Washington) and her husband Joseph (David Ramsey) are looking to adopt. The subplots are Karen's relationships with co-worker Paco (Jimmy Smits) and housekeeper Sofia (Elpidia Carrillo). The film moves along at just the right pace so that each relationship can accurately develop, and the characters come across as individuals with whom one can truly sympathize. In particular, Karen, through observing Sofia and her daughter, comes to understand the kind of life that she could have had. This is truly one that I recommend. Also starring David Morse, Tatyana Ali, Latanya Richardson and Ahmed Best (Jar Jar Binks).