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One of the aspects that I most like about independent cinema is the novel aspect that some of the scripts take. Where major Hollywood flicks seem to have one massive hard driving plot, the independent route sometimes give us a grander scale with different characters moving in different directions. Sometimes the lives of the players intersect and sometimes they are just different themes on a specific event. In the story of Mother and Child, we have three different stories that tie up into a collective whole.
The first story is of a fourteen year-old girl who gets pregnant. We flash forward a few decades and Karen (Annette Bening) is a bitter woman who is haunted by the memories of what could have been. She takes care of her almost invalid mother Nora (Eileen Ryan) with the help of a housekeeper Sofia (Elpidia Carrillo). The housekeeper has a daughter Cristi (Simone Lopez) who seems to have formed a bond with Nora, something that Karen doesn’t like. How Karen and Sofia see Nora are at polar opposites.
Elizabeth (Naomi Watts) is an adopted child who has had a very tough life. Though she is a lawyer, her personal life has been full of tragedy. This has made her rough in both her professional and personal lives. She doesn’t have a moral compass and does whatever it takes to get ahead. Everyone but her can see that she isn’t a happy person.
The third part of the story is of Lucy (Kerry Washington). She and her husband want a child and cannot conceive. They go to the same Catholic adoption agency that Karen was a part of years ago and where Elizabeth came from. Everyone in both of their families wonders if Lucy can love ‘a strangers baby’. The woman who is pregnant is Ray (Shareeka Epps), and is no teenager in trouble but a college girl who wants her baby to be in the best of hands. She demands not only to meet the prospective parents but their families and friends. The obvious link between the three women is the nun Sister Joanne (Cherry Jones) who runs the agency.
Karen writes letters to her unknown daughter while struggling with her own mother. A physical therapist named Paco (Jimmy Smits) notices Karen and tries to show her some attention, something that Karen rebuffs instantly.
Elizabeth has once again come back to LA because “this part of the world is as good as any.” Hired by Paul (Samuel L. Jackson) as his newest attorney, she shows that she takes what she wants. Soon, Paul and Elizabeth become more than professional associates. She also begins to have a casual affair with her married next-door neighbor. Mother and Child is ultimately about how these three seemingly different stories tie together to one solid narrative.
The acting here is just superior. Annette Bening is becoming the character actress of the decade. She is gruff and impersonal at first but eventually becomes the person she wants to be. There is this nice chemistry between her and Jimmy Smits, two wounded people who find some common ground. Naomi Watts’ character is just a bit more complicated, the driven woman who doesn’t let anyone get in her way. An event in her life also changes her and she discovers very late that she can be the person that she needed to be. By far Kerry Washington gets the best role. Her feelings of not being able to conceive a child are worn on her heart sleeves to the point of being wrenching. Outside of Tyler Perry, one seldom sees such a strong role for a black woman. This is strong Supporting Actress material.
The strange part about Mother and Child is how unimportant the males in the film are. Most are no more than window dressing, placed there for reactions than actions. Back in the old studio days, this kind of a film would be called a ‘woman’s picture’ or a ‘weepie’. Today they are just called rare.
This is by no means a perfect film, it just has a perfect cast. The problem with Mother and Child is with the script. The dialogue is both rough and stilted. The actors don’t so much talk to each other as they pontificate speeches. In this world everyone is wounded. The precis of the flick is that we are all connected and that time makes us more of a family than blood.
When I saw Mother and Child, I jokingly told my friend sitting next to me that the film should be called “Child Trafficking” because this movie mirrors the Oscar winner in style. That’s how the film feels, like a pro-life version of Traffic. Since there are so few good parts for women in Hollywood, those who crave solid acting should seek out Mother and Child. While not a great film it is an entertaining diversion.
