Movie Review - Mother and Child

Mother and Child (2010)

Starring Annette Bening, Naomi Watts, Kerry Washington, Jimmy Smits, Cherry Jones, and Samuel L. Jackson

Directed by Rodrigo García

***This film is currently streaming on Netflix***

I'm usually a big fan of movies like Babel or 21 Grams that have distinct storylines that eventually converge or are revealed to be interrelated.  There's a similar tone on display in Mother and Child (the director of those aforementioned films, Alejandro González Iñárritu, executive produced this flick), but writer-director Rodrigo García has a difficult time creating believable characters.  Adoption (which is the underlying societal "issue" tackled in this drama, much like Babel discussed gun control and 21 Grams delved into drug addiction) apparently causes women to turn into harsh ice queens with a hatred for men, themselves, and children.  With nary another characteristic beyond "bitter" to describe the three talented actresses onscreen -- Annette Bening, Naomi Watts, and Kerry Washington -- the film becomes overbearing and almost a chore to watch.

We first meet Karen (Bening), a fifty-one year-old woman who is still living with the guilt of giving up a child for adoption thirty-seven years ago.  While she cares for her aging and bedridden mother, Karen has turned resentful.  Meanwhile, in some other city, Elizabeth (Watts), a thirty-seven year-old lawyer is starting a new job.  [Yes, the fact that Karen gave up her child thirty-seven years ago and Elizabeth is thirty-seven is not hidden in the film.]  We soon discover that Elizabeth (who has the exact same unpleasant acrid attitude as her biological mother) uses sex as a way to mask her hurt for her lack of a caring family growing up, going so far as to have an affair with her boss (Samuel L. Jackson) at her law firm.  Rounding out the trilogy of women dealing with the ramifications of adoption is Lucy (Washington) who is unable to have children with her husband and is longing to adopt.  While not quite as nasty as Karen and Elizabeth, Lucy isn't exactly a shining example of womanhood.

The biggest problem with Mother and Child is the simple fact that none of the three women are the least bit pleasant to watch.  They're all rather nasty.  Then, about halfway through the movie, these ice queens suddenly melt into loving, caring ladies.  The transition is so instantaneous in all three cases that it almost seems like I was watching two disparate films.  When you tack on a rather melodramatic final act, even the three lovely actresses who I've liked in many of their previous films can't rise above the flawed characters they're forced to portray.

The RyMickey Rating:  D+