User reviews

This movie was a complete surprise to me, I really wasn't sure what to expect when picking this film to view, but with it's all-star cast line-up it looked on the surface like it could be a winner and a winner it was. The storyline is detailed and compelling, 5 minutes into this movie you will be hooked. There are several different elements and segments in this movie that will draw the viewer into the story and make this life journey story a meaningful and appreciated view. For the record, if you read any of my reviews you'll find I do not get into what the movie or story line is about, what I try to relay to you the reader is my opinion of a movie and whether it is worth your time, effort, and money to view, in my humble opinion "Mother and child" is definitely a keeper.

This movie moved me. I'm a guy but this movie and the end just make me cry.

I decided to watch this movie, because of HBO's director Rodrigo Garcia. And i'm thankful i did. It is so emotional i just wish HBO would make a drama series like this.

Naomi Watts is one of the greatest actresses on earth i think. She is still amazing but to bad that Sandra Bullock wins an Oscar where Watts still waits for one.

I also realize Annette Benning is an outstanding actress. I first watched her in American Beauty.

The scenario is great, too. Garcia should make more movies that quality. If you like drama movies (especially if you're a mom) you should watch this. Please give this a nomination academy! 8.5/10

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")

Rodrigo Garcia's 'Mother and Child' is one of the most moving poetic films I have seen of recent times. Garcia's previous films comprised of short vignettes and, on the surface, 'Mother and Child' appears that way. Though the connection between Elizabeth's story and Karen's story is apparent, the other subplots initially appear as though they have no link to Karen and Elizabeth.

While there have been numerous movies of intertwined lives and stories, only few films have managed to have strong links and 'Mother and Child' is one of them and in addition the link between the stories is very significant and it's beautifully done. Moreover the twists and turns are superb. Rodrigo Garcia truly has created a treasure here. His eloquent writing breathes poetry as the story of his characters' lives unfold. Every single character, even the minor ones, are excellently fleshed out.

The execution is just as wonderful. The art direction, cinematography, editing and lighting is first rate. The soundtrack is simply amazing.

Each and every one of the actors does nothing short of fantastic and they deliver some of their finest performances. Annette Bening and Naomi Watts are spellbinding as the mother and daughter, two lost souls leading fractured lives until they gradually find purpose. Kerry Washington is superb as the wannabe mother desperate to have a child while being unaware of the challenges of motherhood. Jimmy Smits is terrific. Garcia's regulars, Elizabeth Peña, Elpidia Carillo and Amy Brenneman are very effective in brief roles and Cherry Jones is brilliant.

'Mother and Child' offers the viewer what they don't know they were looking for in a film. While it is no surprise how many gems are overlooked by people because of lack of recognition, it's a shame that this precious little film falls under this category. I couldn't recommend it more and it's become among my favourites.

Obviously orphanhood is a painful condition, as is lifelong separation from one's child. Adoption is a momentous undertaking, potentially beautiful for all concerned but fraught with risks of heartbreak. These are worthy but dangerous subjects for a movie; and despite good intentions and formidable actors, this one goes badly astray, though it's not without powerful moments. 'Mother and Child' is one of those manipulative stories about angst-ridden folks in LA whose lives turn out to be intertwined. It's not surprising to find it was produced by Alejandro González Iñárritu, though word from Cannes says his own latest film, 'Biutiful,' is straightforward and linear. Iñárritu himself directed the compellingly gritty and loosely connected multi-strand movie 'Amores Perros,' then veered into pretentious pseudo-complexity with more multiple-layered and polyglot storytelling in '21 Grams' and 'Babel.' The popularity among ambitious filmmakers of this genre can be partly traced to the success of the 2004 Paul Haggis film 'Crash ' (also set in a tormented and multi-ethnic, multi-racial Los Angeles), which won three Oscars, including Best Picture, pushing out the more worthy, but less successfully button-pushing 'Brokeback Mountain.'

'Mother and Child' has a fine cast headed by Naomi Watts (who was in '21 Grams', and so is a veteran of orchestrated anomie), Annette Benning, and Samuel L. Jackson, and includes strong performances by Cherry Jones as a kindly nun, Kerry Washington as an eager young women bent on adoption, and Jimmy Smits as one of several implausibly saintly people. These stand by at the right moments, patiently awaiting their opportunity to make everything right again, for the moment when all the chess pieces fall into the right pattern and the game is over.

It's hard to describe the movie in detail because its success as suspenseful entertainment hinges on the way its three or four main plots come together. If we knew ahead of time how and why the various narratives were going to mesh the film would seem flat and hopelessly manipulative -- which, in fact, it is, manipulative anyway. It's not so much flat as cloyingly sentimental and at the same time, in certain moments early on, decidedly creepy. What I can tell you is that a better title for the early stages of the movie might be Neurotic Women. One theme is estrangement, another, adoption. Motherhood seems alternatively a pathology, and a condition hopelessly longed for and never achieved. The character played by Annette Benning is cruel, abrupt, almost pathological. So is Naomi Watts, who is also coldly manipulative. Some of the things that Naomi Watts' character does early on seem downright evil. Annette Bennings' character is so hostile and unpredictable it's hard to imagine her holding down a steady job; but plausibility is not the long suit of a screenplay bent on moving its plots and characters in neat patterns. These two people played by Benning and Watts, who represent a lonely mother and a lost child, are meant to hold our attention, but in order to justify our respect or interest they have to undergo sudden changes the scenes can't justify.

Jackson is an attorney who heads his own very successful law firm. In his first scene he is made to hire Watts, whom he declares impressive. The only trouble is that her record also clearly shows she is unstable, uncommitted, and isolated. The head of a viable firm would think twice before hiring such a person. Then in the days that follow she rapidly seduces him. To analyze the details would not only give away the surprises, but is also embarrassing, because so much is fudged to make the pieces fit together; and besides unconvincing events, there are dropped stitches as time goes on. Things get more obvious and ham-handed when a blind girl appears on the roof of Watts' latest apartment building (she is constantly on the move) for the sole purpose of having Meaningful Conversations. And yet despite all the nonsense, some of the scenes are heartrending, especially one involving Kerry Washington. When Benning turns sweet and lovely, her scenes seem pasted in from another picture. It would have been nice to watch her again in the lightweight, but utterly charming 'Being Julia,' one of her recent triumphs. She is always fine, but she does manic better than depressive. All these fine actors deserved better material. They're good, but they can't make this movie plausible or hide the writer-director's heavy, obtrusive hand.

Rodrigo Garcia, the writer, director of "Mother And Child" is the son of Gabriel Garcia Marquez no less but his universe is solidly set on a reality that doesn't shy away from poetry. A poetry emerging from an open female heart. Wanting and longing for things we lost, for thing we let out of our lives. Annette Bening is superb. Superb! "She's 38 today" Annette tells her failing mother, talking about the daughter she gave up for adoption when she was merely 14. Naomi Watts is the long lost daughter and she is an updated version of the mother she never knew. Naomi Watts confirms, once more, her extraordinary range. The film works on every level and we live the changes the characters suffer with a palpitating heart of recognition. The entire cast is outstanding with Samuel L Jacksong giving a performance that is a revelation in itself. Gentle, strong, moving, powerful and funny. A film I highly recommend.

I didn't know what to expect from this movie. I wanted something light, something emotional and dramatic, but not too sad. I got everything I wanted and more, including the sadness which I didn't want. But it was worth it. Benning's character came across as very harsh early on, but we later saw her morphed into a more likable character, which I felt transformed easily, because she was now in a more happier place in her life. She was made to give up her daughter when she was 14 and pregnant, and I believe that made her bitter initially in life. Naomi Watts' character was an adopted child who also seemed bitter, having never known her parents, and was on her own from 17. Kerry Washington was a married woman who couldn't have children, and therefore looking to adopt. How all these characters came together was worth the watch. It was beautifully done. Kerry was sublime in her acting skills, and you felt her anxiety, her pain and every emotion she portrayed. Benning as usual was wonderful, and Naomi was manipulative and often unlikable, which I believe she was meant to portray and therefore did it well. The role of the Sister in the agency was well played by Cherry Jones, and all the supporting actors, including Samuel Jackson and Jimmy Smits, brought a realness to each part. I don't want to give anything away, but the sadness in one of the scenes with Naomi really came as a surprise, as I was not expecting that. I felt like there was not enough closure, but then again the producer brought it all full circle to make you embrace the ending, after all, not everything in life ends with roses and a box of chocolates. Sometimes it ends with a lot of Kleenex. I think this is a movie worth watching, and embracing.

Caught this one at TIFF, and it was one of the best movies of the festival. Rodrigo Garcia directed "Nine Lives", which may be familiar to some audiences. That one was from 2005 and wove together a series of short vignettes. Garcia has a wonderful sensibility at portraying female characters in that one, and in "Mother & Child" he builds upon it even further as the movie centers around the theme of adoption and how it affects three adult women, played by Annette Bening, Naomi Watts, and Kerri Washington.

I suppose this will get the "chick flick" label upon it's release, but for any lover of good dramas with characters you can sink your teeth into, that shouldn't matter, and besides, when did it become unfashionable for grown men to see movies with attractive female stars in them? There isn't a false moment or a scene that doesn't ring true, and I found myself so involved in the particularities of all the characters we meet that it no longer mattered to me what happened next, it was more interesting to get inside the shoes and take a walk inside the lives of these characters, so well fleshed out by all the stars here. So many big movies from America often feature adults behaving like children, and so it's ultimately refreshing and quite moving to follow the characters in "Mother & Child" who are going through very adult problems and acting like adults throughout, even if sometimes they fall or crack or are flawed.

I think Bening and Watts, playing two very complicated and difficult women, should be nominated for Oscars. This movie takes material that could have been dumbed down and made into a TV movie of the week, but instead Rodrigo Garcia elevates the film by really listening to his characters. A wonderful movie, not just for women, but for all adults who like good movies, and for all film-goers who especially like "hyperlink" movies, that is, movies that deal with a multitude of characters while letting each of them take the wheel of the car. Terrific.

Wow, where do I begin? Well, let me say that I went to the screening after hearing a friend rant and rave about how good it is. Being of the dude species I said to myself it's another chick-flick, but since homegirl couldn't stop talking about how good it was I decided to check it out anyway.

I'm thrilled to say that I am beyond happy that I did. This movie is the BOMB if you appreciate excellent acting, writing, directing and casting. I could go on and on but that's the bottom line.

Well, I do have one more thought. I just hope and pray that come Oscar time - because "Mother and Child" is being released now (Spring, 2010) - that it will somehow not be overlooked.

If you like excellent movie making of the drama variety, go see this film!

It's the Mother's Day weekend which may account for the slew of films either being centered around motherhood, romance or women, but of all the offerings for this week, none is as tender a tale as writer-director Rodrigo Garcia's Mother and Child, which to one's surprise, an insightful film about woman condition, but a project with a man at the helm. In a way the film celebrates womanhood, but seen from another angle, it's pretty focused on negativity, the exploitation of sexuality, and indecisiveness.

Containing 3 main narrative threads, the presence of a man is almost a token, with David Ramsey playing a fellow colleague who romances Karen (Annette Bening) with great difficulty, David Morse playing Karen's old flame who was guilty of impregnating her when she's a minor, and whom Karen still holds a candle for, and the biggest mo-fo in cinematic history to date, Samuel L. Jackson as Paul the founder of a law firm, in what would possibly be his most docile role in recent years, yet for his character's age, still has in him a very potent output in which to penetrate tied-up fallopian tubes.

Writer-director Rodrigo Garcia's Mother and Child is an extremely poignant attempt that celebrates the inevitable motherly bonds that form between a mother and her child, and central to the story is the basic premise of Karen at 14 years giving up her child for adoption, and for years to date continue to feel guilt and constantly wondering whether her child is still alive, and if so just what she is doing. Therapy comes from writing letters in her diary to her child to keep herself sane, as her grumpy, caustic nature puts her off in people relationships, including that of her mother, which gives the title a different spin where Karen is perhaps the conduit.

Naomi Watt's Elizabeth is the open secret that the audience are told is that child Karen gave up as a baby when born, and has so far lived a life that's singular and responsible for only herself. An alpha-female who's a hotshot lawyer, she relocates back to LA and joins Paul's law firm, and slowly her wistful demeanour gets peeled back to show a domineering woman who doesn't hesitate to exploit her sexuality to pull strings, as well as having that mean streak in her through the seduction of her neighbour and the deliberate objective to just screw up their happy married life just because she couldn't stand her neighbour's inquisitive, chirpy wife. One would have thought that she would be intrinsically bitter about her beginnings and hence her surgical procedure, only for Fate to play a cruel game to have her become like her mother with the same options made available, and for the audience, to keep us guessing.

Kerry Washington's Lucy is a woman who cannot conceive, and through her storyline the callous nature of adoption is explored. It's not easy on either side trying to find suitable adoptive parents for one's child, and almost emotionally painful for one to give one's child up after 9 months of carrying the foetus, and on the other side having to deal with the doubts that inevitably creep into such a business like transaction, rather than one which involves nature. The character of Lucy also is someone who's not very likable as she's the classic case of always pushing the blame to someone else (and here her long-suffering, child- loving husband) and constantly teetering on the borders of a neurotic pessimistic whiner, and you're more than goaded to pass judgement on her, whether it is her just desserts in not being able to have children so that her evil genes don't get passed on to the next generation.

With all round fine performances by the actresses, Mother and Child has enough to keep you engaged as it plods along to poke and prod the many issues brought up in its narrative. It's easy to connect the dots as the film moves into the last act, but it's the cast's riveting delivery that keeps you glued to the screen. If you're up for some female centric story, and want to finish up that packet of tissues you have in your pocket, then this film will be your automatic choice.

Mother and Child was the best movie I saw at the Toronto International Film Festival — and I saw 25.

Annette Bening is staggeringly brilliant in her role. She's a prickly and largely unappealing character, but the actress brings such humanity to the performance as a woman whose heart is slowly coming to life. Naomi Watts also brings nuance and humanity to a flawed and complex character. In a world where characters must always be "likeable," these performances feel like revelations.

Direction is consistently sensitive and intelligent. The script deftly moves between three worlds, with intersections that are surprising and never feel forced.

If Mother and Child doesn't garner wide distribution (and an Oscar nod for Ms. Bening) then this industry is deeply flawed.

I have no particular criticism about the technical or artistic qualities of this movie or seeing it as an entertainment light enough to pass away a couple of hours just watching all these problems with having babies, adopting babies, caring for babies, bathing babies, dying to have babies... I just wonder... are women lives SO limited that the only way to fulfill their humdrum little lives is ONLY by having babies??? I'm sorry folks, I find that aim in life so limiting that I cannot believe an intelligent woman cannot find any other way to happiness and fulfillment in her life. I just can't. I refuse to believe it. For men is so easy, man takes pleasure and disappears if he so decides, but women..., women are stuck for ever with the consequences! What about ART, what about a fulfilling career, what about LIVING??? A woman that has a child is burdened with "it" for life! As the character in the movie that got the adopted baby girl (finally, because one more minute of her struggles and I would have stopped the projection!!!) realizes, when the child howls away for HOURS, that this is no rosy picture and heavenly perfumes... (she would gladly return the baby to whomever gave it to her in the first place). Well, all that said, I swear never again to watch movies with howling babies in it.

'MOTHER AND CHILD': Three Stars (Out of Five)

Rodrigo Garcia writes and directs this melodramatic adoption movie. It stars Naomi Watts, Annette Bening, Kerry Washington, Shareeka Epps, Samuel L. Jackson and Jimmy Smits. The film debuted at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival and 2010 Sundance Film Festival before receiving a limited release theatrical run. It was shot on a mere $7 million budget and has garnered mostly positive reviews from critics (although not glowing). Some talk award nominations for some of the acting like Bening and Watts but the movie as a whole isn't good enough and the acting will be overlooked as well (although it might be deserving).

The film revolves around three women each dealing with different aspects of adoption. There's Karen (Bening), a single bitter health care worker who gave up her child at age 14. She has an abusive attitude towards everyone including a new co-worker (Smitts) who could be a possible romantic interest. There's Elizabeth (Watts), a single lawyer who still has problems dealing with the fact that her birth mother gave her up for adoption. She's extremely confident and controlling and manipulates both her married neighbor (Marc Blucas) and her much older boss (Jackson) into sexual affairs. Things get complicated when she finds herself unexpectedly pregnant. Then there's Lucy (Washington), a happily married woman who can't have a child of her own and wants nothing more than to be a mother. She meets Ray (Epps), a young mother looking for the perfect couple to raise her child after giving it up at birth. She likes Lucy but certainly puts her through a test before agreeing to sign over her baby to her.

The movie sort of plays out like a network TV movie or mini-series but much better made. It does delve into a lot of melodrama and gets a little over the top at times but the acting is outstanding and it does have a nice theatrical touch that certainly lifts it above TV movie standards. Some argue that the film contains a discouraging anti-adoption message but I don't know if I believe that's entirely true (although I can see the case to be made for it). My biggest problem with the movie is that the lead characters are so unlikeable (mainly Karen, Elizabeth and Ray). Still the acting is nearly flawless and the characters are mostly believable despite their unlikeable characteristics. The film is far from perfect but it has moments and is far from bad as well.

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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).

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.

Mother and Child (2009)

A drama filled with crosscurrents and heavy emotional stuff, yet told in such a normal and realistic way we come to believe it. And like it. Especially the acting, with Naomi Watts and Annette Bening leading two generations (and defining the title).

More than just exploring what a woman and her daughter (or her mother) need from one another (and give), this is about that first stage of becoming a mother—and deciding whether to keep the baby at all. So you see, it gets huge. And then comes the long term issue of adoption and finding, with luck, your adopted mother. The anger and released fears and the decades of doubts all flip and resolve, and this is all here.

What helps all along is the imperfect characters. In fact, Watts (as the conniving, independent daughter) and Bening (as the bitter, lonely mother) are really unlikable. At first. What keeps you going is the tenderness of two of the men, played by Jimmy Smits and Samuel L. Jackson, both with wonderful subtlety. While it never becomes "father and child" at all, these men really help nurture the mother and daughter relationships.

So who is this Columbian director and writer who pulled this together so well? He's had a mixed career writing and producing, and directing, including some "Six Feet Under" episodes and other spot jobs. He seems to lean toward interpersonal dramas, and has a knack for playing down sentiment while tuning into emotional impact (which is very different). It works.

Some people might find the plot too controlled, too contrived (almost but not quite to the point of predictability). Others might find the restraint all a bit too realistic, so that you kind of see too much real life and not enough theater. For me it walked a great line between all these poles. Good stuff!