Mother and Child

[ejwrank]

Holloway was awful. As soon as the film began all the idiots in the row behind us opened huge, noisy Doritos packages...one at a time. Then they opened up their drinks and the swoosh was incredibly loud. The people on the other side of us were up and down like yo-yos and when they finally sat down (of course they came in late and then one of them decided to leave), they had a nice loud conversation about everything you could possibly imagine and this continued throughout the film. They came into the cinema with a large bag of Doritos, a large popcorn and a dish of ice cream--so much food they couldn't hold it all! The noise was louder than the film at times. I admit to laughing out loud at one point what with all the bags rustling, cans being opened and people chatting, I couldn't believe we were actually there to watch a film.

Some of the threads in the story were interesting but it was all very laboured. And some of the characters seemed to change enormously in the blink of an eye which made it very unbelievable (and silly!). And what about those nuns? Talk about lack of efficiency and professionalism!

[alythonian]

Saw this in Edinburgh tonight.
Different crowd than usual, I have to agree.
It was different. I can see why the acting has been attracting favourable plaudits but it wasn't the most comfortable to watch either.
The blonde Elizabeth character was very dislikeable from my point of view and I don't just put it down to her childhood etc (without many a spoiler I say no more but some have alluded above) as I saw so many recognisable female lawyer traits in her it was frightening. I have come across women like her in professional life too often and Naomi Watts was, to me, incredibly believable in that role.
My main gripe with the film was Annette Benning's wig - I spent a great deal of time concentrating on wishing it away!
The film was not enjoyable in a "let's sit down and watch this" way, but was interesting as a study of social history in modern society.
I did struggle with it all allegedly being on the same time line due to the pregnancies amongst other things.
Would be interested to know if there is a Christian promotion of this for all reasons already mentioned.

[Beate]

Did anyone else think that Naomi Watts kept the baby purely because people expected her not to? After all, she had her tubes tied at 17, it's kind of an easy assumption to make, albeit quite unprofessional by that gynaecologist.

[David]

http://moviefilmreviews.wordpress.com/2 ... and-child/ not great, being a little generous with the star rating perhaps. Audience are rubbish. Wanted to ask are you a director? Have I just purchased the DVD and put on an alternative audio track? No! if I wanted a directors commentary I'm sure I can get one.

[TheyCallMeMrGlass]

Also, Naomi Watts' character was a tad strange, you were left wondering whether she was the way she was because she had never known her birth parents (her adoptive parents were never really mentioned), and there were scenes that went nowhere, like with the blind girl, or when she put her knickers in her neighbour's underwear drawer.

I agree she was strange - and she was not a character I liked but, you did feel sorry for her towards the end. [spoiler]I think the knickers scene was she wanted the neighbour's wife to find out, and the scene with the blind girl, was that it helped made up her mind to look for her biological mum.[/spoiler]

Totally agree with that interpretation. We dont want need that story developed because then the film will lose focus. This is what I like about this film's direction, it stays with the characters we need to focus on. [spoiler]We dont need to see the development of the knickers in the draw plot because that one action has only one outcome which doesn't need to be told in this film. The blind girl also served a valuable plot device for Watt's emotional journey.[/spoiler] The more I think about the film, the more I think how beautifully it was done. I wont add more marks though, it still has its slight flaws.

[spoiler]At first I though Watts death was predictable and too forced to draw a narrative impact. But thinking about it more, I realise her death was a harsh but necessary drive to emphasise the message of lost opportunities and regret.[/spoiler]

[TheyCallMeMrGlass]

http://moviefilmreviews.wordpress.com/2 ... nd-child/- not great, being a little generous with the star rating perhaps. Audience are rubbish. Wanted to ask are you a director? Have I just purchased the DVD and put on an alternative audio track? No! if I wanted a directors commentary I'm sure I can get one.

Link is not quite working David! Fix it please, I want to read it

Edit: just read it by going through home page. Another excellent review, well done

[cinefila1]

Then all through the film, people decided to laugh when it wasn't funny and give a running commentary. It was insane.

We were sitting pretty close to the nutter giving a running commentary. I guess some people just don't seem to realise they are not at home! We had the Doritos brigade behind, some checking their messages and towards the end of the film a few mobiles ringing too. Why on earth do people go to the cinema these days? To stuff themselves with unhealthy food and play with their phones in the dark?

All in all, I enjoyed the film and the fact that it was not just focused on one character. Felt it was well acted by the leads as well as all the supporting actors.

[Beate]

http://moviefilmreviews.wordpress.com/2 ... nd-child/- not great, being a little generous with the star rating perhaps. Audience are rubbish. Wanted to ask are you a director? Have I just purchased the DVD and put on an alternative audio track? No! if I wanted a directors commentary I'm sure I can get one.

Link is not quite working David! Fix it please, I want to read it

Edit: just read it by going through home page. Another excellent review, well done

All you have to do is delete the last character in the link. Tsk.

[David]

Fixed it. Thanks Mr G.

[a_person]

edit: where is a_hoodie when you need her?!

Awwwwww, I was working until 6pm then was too tired so went home. Going by the reviews, I'm glad I didn't go. Poor you and all the others who went to watch this. Where was soonforgotten?

I just got that the blond girl might have an interesting superpower: orgasms on demand (and without foreplays s'il vous plait!).

Whaaaattttt? Sounds like the only bit worth watching.