Review No.1: Mother and Child

So here we are the first review of a film released in the UK in 2012. And it is one that originally appeared in the US in 2009. Mother and Child is directed by Rodrigo Garcia, whose other film Albert Nobbs is being reviewed very soon, but more importantly produced by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu director of Babel and 21 Grams. Like those films Mother and Child features various stories that link together as the story goes on with all three stories featuring themes of motherhood. Annette Bening stars as Karen a woman who gave up her baby when she was a teenager with this child now being a thirty-something lawyer named Elizabeth played by Naomi Watts. We follow the story of both of these women who have been affected by the adoption with Karen being very cold towards most people and Elizabeth being very matter-of-fact and throwing herself into her work as a lawyer. The third story follows Kerry Washington's Lucy trying to adopt a child with mixed results and as you would expect this story interlinks with the others before the film's end.

Mother and Child definitely has its moments and most of that comes from the performances, Watts especially shines in a role which is quite hard to sympathise with but she is able to convey a woman who has gone through emotional hardships and as a result of this has become cold. Annette Bening is also great although Karen is a character that is hard work she eventually softens when she forms a relationship with her co-worker played by Jimmy Smits. And I would be amiss if I didn't mention Samuel L Jackson as Elizabeth's worthy boss he puts in a turn that is very understated something you don't see from Jackson very often. Mother and Child's main problem is that it outstays its welcome and everything seemed to be drawn out so that the final scene would have more significance but for me I felt that there was at least some parts that could've been cut and some characters who weren't afforded much time to develop. Overall Mother and Child is a solid drama with some strong performances but there's nothing that marks this film out than more than that.

Verdict: For a solid drama a solid 5.5 out of 10 should do the trick.