''Mother and Child'' is a 2009 drama directed and written by
Rodrigo García. It premiered on September 14, 2009, at the
2009 Toronto International Film Festival
The 34th annual Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) was held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada between September 10 and September 19, 2009. The opening night gala presented the Charles Darwin biography ''Creation''. ''The Young Victoria'', based ...
and at the
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,6 ...
on January 23, 2010,
and was the closing night selection within
Maryland Film Festival
The Maryland Film Festival is an annual five-day international film festival taking place each May in Baltimore, Maryland. The festival was launched in 1999, and presents international film and video work of all lengths and genres. The festival ...
2010. It was given a limited release in the United States beginning May 7, 2010.
Plot
When she was 14, Karen became pregnant and gave her daughter up for adoption. The decision to give up her child has always haunted her. Upon meeting laid-back Paco at work, Karen allows her anxiety and mistrust to get the best of her. She gradually calms her anxiety through her growing relationship with Paco, and they get married. Paco persuades Karen to write a letter to her unknown, adult daughter, and she leaves the letter with the Catholic agency that had arranged the adoption.
Karen's daughter, Elizabeth, grows up to be solitary, willful, and hardhearted. She is hired as an attorney at a prestigious law firm headed by Paul. They have an affair, and Elizabeth becomes pregnant. She quits without informing Paul of her condition and moves to a new apartment and a new job. She also leaves a letter for her biological mother with the adoption agency.
Lucy is a baker who longs to be a mother, but she cannot have children of her own. She and her husband, Joseph, contact the same adoption agency and they meet with a young pregnant, prospective mother. After a protracted interview period, the mother agrees to give the couple her baby, but she changes her mind shortly after giving birth. Lucy is devastated by this news. Joseph reveals that he really wants to have his own biological child and he and Lucy separate.
Elizabeth
dies while giving birth to her child. Since no one steps forward to claim the baby, the agency offers the baby to Lucy, who adopts her. At first, Lucy is overwhelmed by the demands of being a new mother.
One year later, Karen finds out about Elizabeth's death and her letter, which had been misplaced, informing her that she has a granddaughter named Ella. The agency arranges a meeting and Karen meets the little girl and Lucy, who live a short distance away in her own neighborhood.
Cast
Production
The film was originally going to be produced by
Cha Cha Cha Films
Cha Cha Cha Films ( es, Cha Cha Chá Producciones) is a film production company founded by Alfonso Cuarón, Alejandro González Iñárritu and Guillermo del Toro. The first film released under the Cha Cha Cha banner was ''Rudo y Cursi'', which th ...
,
Focus Films
Focus Films Ltd. is an independent feature film development and production company in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1982 by David Pupkewitz and Marsha Levin and is based in Finchley Road, London.
Background
Focus's early successes with t ...
and
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...
; Julie Lynn through Mockingbird Films took over in late 2008 with a production budget of $7 million.
Principal photography
Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production.
Personnel
Besides the main film personnel, such as ...
began in January, 2009.
Reception
The film has been met with generally positive reviews, with critics praising the standout performance of
Annette Bening
Annette Carol Bening (born May 29, 1958) is an American actress. She has received various accolades throughout her career spanning over four decades, including a British Academy Film Award and two Golden Globe Awards, in addition to nominati ...
. It has a 78% approval rating based on 130 reviews on
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...
.
The site's critics consensus reads, "Though it occasionally veers into unnecessary melodrama, ''Mother and Child'' benefits from a stellar cast and writer-director Rodrigo Garcia's finely detailed, bravely unsentimental script."
On
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...
, the film has a weighted average score of 64, indicating "generally favorable reviews."
The film was awarded the Grand Prix du Jury at the 2010
Deauville American Film Festival.
References
External links
Official Mother and Child Facebook Page*
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Mother And Child
2000s American films
2009 drama films
2000s English-language films
2009 films
2009 independent films
American drama films
Cha Cha Cha Films films
Fictional duos
Films about adoption
Films about interracial romance
Films about mother–daughter relationships
Films directed by Rodrigo García
Films scored by Edward Shearmur
Sony Pictures Classics films