Mother and Child

“Motherhood should be… something simpler than that,” says a mother of her daughter’s complicated adoption negotiations in Rodrigo Garcia’s Mother and Child. The heart of the film, in fact, lies in motherhood’s complexity, adoptive or otherwise. Garcia delivers a highly emotional and resonant story without ever crossing the line to melodramatics.

Set in Los Angeles, the film unfolds in three intertwining strands. Karen (Annette Bening) is bitterly unhappy and haunted by the daughter she gave up for adoption after giving birth to her at age 14. That child has evidently grown into 37-year-old Elizabeth (Naomi Watts), a cold, ambitious lawyer who confines herself to a life of isolation. Lucy (Kerry Washington) is trying to adopt a baby and facing the difficulties that come along with what she describes as a horribly unnatural path to motherhood.

Though the plotline of interconnected lives may be all too familiar, the remarkable depth and complexity of the characters gives Mother and Child a unique, and heart wrenching, edge. Garcia, whose past work includes Things You Can Tell Just By Looking At Her and Nine Lives, has an aptitude for portrayals of genuine and multi-layered female protagonists. He makes the audience truly care about these women and their fates. Their disappointment is yours, too.

Bening delivers the standout performance in a role that spans a tremendous range of emotions. Her character is constantly evolving, and she hits every note from humor to despair.

In the end, Mother and Child proves to be as profound as the bond its title suggests.