Review of Mother and Child (2009) by David F — 12 Jun 2010

In "Mother and Child," Karen(Annette Bening) is a 51-year old physical therapist who cares for her invalid mother(Eileen Ryan). At work, she has become the focus of Paco(Jimmy Smits), a new co-worker. She would be happy if she knew the daughter, Elizabeth(Naomi Watts), she gave up for adoption when she was 14, is doing very well for herself. She is a successful lawyer who has just been hired by Paul(Samuel L. Jackson, dialing it down several hundred notches). Meanwhile, Lucy(Kerry Washington) and Joseph(David Ramsey) are themselves looking to adopt, unable to conceive themselves probably because of lengthy phone messages left during the act. Hope arrives in the person of Ray(Shareeka Epps), a 20 year old college student and six months pregnant.

"Mother and Child" starts exceedingly well, being performed well by an excellent cast, and taking a large chance on the audience sympathizing with two characters with the genetic predisposition to being prickly. But about the halfway point, the movie suffers a paradigm shift towards the sentimental, as the pace starts to drag with an especially contrived ending.

That tone shift interferes with the movie's otherwise thoughtful examination of adoption from both sides, with the maudlin emphasis now on the bonds between mother and child which it emotionally sees as unbreakable. There may be practical reasons to give up a child, as I get a sense that most adopted children may come from teenaged mothers who may not yet be ready(admittedly, some people are never mature enough to be parents, now matter how old they are). And there is nothing to think Karen would have been able to handle the responsibilities at 14. No matter, the movie gets it right when it points out that family does not necessarily have to be biological.