Mother and Child

I totally underestimated this film. A story about adoption and how it affects our three main characters just didn’t excite me. A few minutes in, however, and I was totally engrossed.

Our three women – Annette Bening, Naomi Watts and Kerry Washington – are all immutably changed by their respective liaisons with adoption. Their pain is tangible, but understood only by random acquaintances that serve as a fleeting reprieve to reality. The characters are totally believable and say more through nuance than words, making the performances of these actresses extremely intense and moving.

It’s heavy, I won’t lie, and will leave you feeling like you’ve had your heart scrubbed clean with a nailbrush, but it’s worth the trip.

Rating: 4 outta 5.