10 "Controversial" Movies That Didn't Deserve All The Hype

7. Birth

The controversy: In Jonathan Glazer's sophomore effort, a widow (Nicole Kidman) is convinced that a young boy (Cameron Bright) is the reincarnation of her late husband when the boy reveals a great deal of knowledge about the marriage. The film generated controversy because of apparent undertones of paedophilia, with one particular scene - in which a naked Kidman climbs into a bath with Bright - grabbing headlines. The reality: Glazer's films have never made things particularly easy on the audience, as anyone who saw last year's Under The Skin will know. Nothing is spelled out or made simple, so of course a scene in which Nicole Kidman shares a bath with a ten-year-old, and another where she kisses him on the lips, could prove awkward for those viewers choosing to take things at face value. Birth is, in fact, a rather sad film about a widow's love overriding her logic in the hope that she can still be happy. The two scenes that amassed column inches on the film overshadowed a brilliant, tender tragedy about one woman's inability to let go; for this one, the hype suggested the film was controversial merely for the sake of it, when the truth is it's all handled with more tact and class than the majority of contemporary movies have.