MOTHER AND CHILD; riveting & affecting
One must find the elegance in simplicity of ‘Mother and Child’ even if it misleads despite its accuracy.
rating: 3
Dont let the name fool you. This is not a boring movie. It simply had to accept the moniker 'Mother and Child' because it is entirely what the story is about. Its not just that the protagonists are mother and child, but that their lack of a relationship predominates everything else. Its also about the mother, as child of her mother, and the child, as mother of her daughter. Then theres the daughter of the house-cleaning mother, who is integral to the character arch of the protagonist mother, and the infertile woman who wants desperately to be a mother, of a daughter, naturally. So, ultimately one must find the elegance in simplicity of Mother and Child even if it misleads despite its accuracy. And if that was a lot to swallow right away, Ill make up for it later by revealing which actors films have grossed more at the box office than any other actor in movie history. But first, more about family life. Karen (Annette Bening) is the mother. Shes never known her daughter, having given birth at fourteen and the baby up for adoption. From then on, Karens life was stunted. She lives alone with her ageing, dependent and morosely cynical mother, and works as a physical therapist at a rehabilitation clinic. Thus, despite having missed out on motherhood, whether at home or at work, shes a caretaker. Withdrawn to a level appearing misanthropic, Karen is caught off guard by the attentions of the warm and handsome Paco (Jimmy Smits), a new coworker. Their courtship is anything but smooth as Paco tries to crack the surface of Karens prickly nature, and the result is humorous as well as constructive to Karens coming out of her shell. In a revealing moment she tells Paco, Everywhere I go I look for her face in the crowdI dont know if shes alive or dead. I have nothing else. I have nothing to give. In another, she meets her once teen lover, Elizabeths father, now an adult, and tells him, What I felt with you Ive never felt again for anyone. Annette Benings performance is masterful. Not just in the sense of the word as florid praise but in a grounded, literal sense as of a master craftsman who, over years of experience in his art, produces awe-inspiring work in which one can see no flaws. Hardly straightforward, at once soft and rigid, we are always discovering Karens persona. Shes reclusive, caring, stilted, funny, cruel, kind and difficult. Despite her prominent faults, she is endearing and increasingly earning ones empathy. The films writer/director, Rodrigo Garcia, said of her character, Sometimes I want to ask Annette how she came to map such a remarkably precise and moving journey for Karens feelingsSometimes I dont want to ask her at all. I dont want to see the secret compartment where the rabbit is hidden. Elizabeth (Naomi Watts) is the child. She, too, presents a precise figure. Shes calloused like her mother, but hasnt allowed herself to face her pain and thus hasnt softened. Complications with her adoptive parents led her to be alone at a young age. Shes ambitious, sharp and fiercely independent. A successful attorney, her beauty does not detract from her believability but is an essential part of her direct approach to what she wants, and that she always gets it. Shes contemptuous and austere to a level teetering on sociopathy, but her playfulness, honesty and the buried emotion from which shes always on the run makes her vulnerable and enjoyable. One understands perfectly well when her boss calls off their affair to protect himself from falling in love with her. Herein, hes Paul (Samuel L. Jackson), the founder of a prestigious law firm in Los Angeles. He is seduced and sexually dominated by his new and junior employee, Elizabeth, who subsequently becomes pregnant, although another affair makes it unclear if the baby is his. With the news of her condition, a crack in the façade of Elizabeths self-protection cuts deeply into her psyche. Already a serial shedder of attachments, she again abandons present circumstances, but this time shifts course and gives pause to consider her past. Karen has never stopped considering her past. But after 37 years of limiting her actions to a diary, bolstered by Pacos support and guidance, she faces her fear of being spit on and contacts the adoption agency from so long ago, run by Sister Joanne (Cherry Jones). Now, as soon as one sees the name Alejandro González Iñárritu ('Amores Perros', '21 Grams') associated with a film, in this case as Executive Producer, one should automatically ask if this is a tale of intersecting lives. And the answer, of course, is yes. Enter Lucy (Kerry Washington), a woman who cannot conceive and so decides to adopt. She is a tertiary protagonist and so we are privy to the personal effects of her infertility. The trauma that her relationship suffers and the heartache endured in connection with Ray, a pregnant girl who commits to Lucy her unborn child. Lucy meets Ray through Sister Joanne, and so sets the stage early on for an intersection that you know is coming sooner or later. The element of predictability is not absent, and is the strongest criticism I can wage at writer/director Roberto Garcia. However, even when the moments one sees coming arrive, they are no less fulfilling for it. The characters are so well formed and the story so rich that, as often happens with good movies, one wonders how so much was told in two hours. To this accomplishment, Garcia adds candor and humility in describing the process. Screenwriting for him is, Riddled with insecurityMost of the time its a slog that fuels self contempt. And on directing, My problem then is not isolation but the opposite, constant interactionHaving to pretend that youre the director. But to see what you imagined in the loneliness of your desk late at night live and breathe in front of you is intoxicating. Through all of his insecure slogging, Garcia succeeded in wresting a plot that is diverse and compelling, with characters who are thoroughly entertaining. There arent any slick shots or visual fantasies, but if youre tired of your action being served up like a video game in the hands of effects-happy executives, bet your money this weekend on this moving and excellent drama.