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Title: Mother and Child (2009)
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| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
 |
Alexandria M. Salling | ... | Karen (age 14) (as Alexandria Salling) |
|
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Connor Kramme | ... | Tom (age 14) |
| Annette Bening | ... | Karen | |
| Eileen Ryan | ... | Nora | |
| Samuel L. Jackson | ... | Paul | |
| Naomi Watts | ... | Elizabeth | |
| Cherry Jones | ... | Sister Joanne | |
| Kerry Washington | ... | Lucy | |
| David Ramsey | ... | Joseph | |
|
|
Kay D'Arcy | ... | Karen's Hydrotherapy Patient |
|
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Bradford Alex | ... | Physical Therapist |
| Jimmy Smits | ... | Paco | |
| Elpidia Carrillo | ... | Sofia | |
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Simone Lopez | ... | Cristi |
| Carla Gallo | ... | Tracy | |
Almost forty years ago, a young girl of fourteen has sex, gets pregnant, and gives her baby up for adoption. Fast-forwarding to the present day, we meet three very different women, each of whom struggles to maintain control of their lives. There's Elizabeth, a smart and successful lawyer who uses her body to her advantage. Any time she feels that she doesn't have the upper hand, and cannot control the situation, she uses her sex appeal - whether that be starting a romance with her boss when she suspects he is trying to start one himself, or finding some way to control her overly friendly neighbor and husband. Karen, meanwhile, is a bitter health care professional who obviously has a lot of heart but never shows it. She gave up a daughter at the age of fourteen (wonderfully shown rather than told, she is the young girl and mother of Elizabeth), and has never gotten over it - her bitterness inspiring her to lash out at everyone around her - even the gentle man at work who is undeniably ... Written by Sony Pictures Classics
There have been a few movies about adoption, but probably none so profound as Rodrigo García's "Mother and Child". It depicts three separate stories, which despite their distinction share a link.
Karen (Annette Bening) is an embittered nurse who many years earlier gave up her daughter for adoption. The daughter (Naomi Watts) is now grown up and calling herself Elizabeth, working in a law firm headed by the upstanding Paul (Samuel L. Jackson). Meanwhile, baker Lucy (Kerry Washington) and her husband Joseph (David Ramsey) are looking to adopt. The subplots are Karen's relationships with co-worker Paco (Jimmy Smits) and housekeeper Sofia (Elpidia Carrillo).
The film moves along at just the right pace so that each relationship can accurately develop, and the characters come across as individuals with whom one can truly sympathize. In particular, Karen, through observing Sofia and her daughter, comes to understand the kind of life that she could have had. This is truly one that I recommend.
Also starring David Morse, Tatyana Ali, Latanya Richardson and Ahmed Best (Jar Jar Binks).