Child’s Pose (2014)
86%RT Audience Score:
Awards & Nominations: 13 wins & 8 nominations
It isn’t necessarily an easy watch, but thanks to Netzer’s interesting direction and a riveting performance from Gheorghiu, Child’s Pose is rewarding
Child’s Pose” is like watching a Romanian soap opera, but with better acting and a more complex storyline. Luminita Gheorghiu’s performance as Cornelia is both terrifying and engrossing, making you hate her character while also feeling sorry for her. The film is a commentary on the wealthy elite and their unthinking behavior, but it’s also a family drama that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Overall, “Child’s Pose” is a great movie that will leave you saying, “Man, that was a wild ride.
Production Company(ies)
United Artists Lions Gate Films, Industrial Development Corporation, of South Africa
Distributor
NA
Release Type
Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
Bucharest, Romania
MPAA / Certificate
Not Rated
Year of Release
2013
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby Digital
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Aspect ratio:2.35 : 1
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Runtime:NA
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Language(s):Romanian
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Country of origin:Romania
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Release date:Release Date (Streaming): May 27, 2014
Genre(s)
Drama
Keyword(s)
starring Luminita Gheorghiu, Bogdan Dumitrache, Ilinca Goia, Florin Zamfirescu, Vlad Ivanov, Mimi Branescu, directed by Calin Peter Netzer, written by Razvan Radulescu, Calin Peter Netzer, drama, box office performance, budget, reviewed by David Parkinson, Geoffrey Macnab, Jake Wilson, Steven Rea, Bill Goodykoontz, John Anderson, Alexa Dalby, Bernard Boo, Daniel Green, Pat Padua, MPAA rating, producer Oana Giurgiu, Calin Peter Netzer, Ada Solomon
Worldwide gross: $994,126
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $1,262,886
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,541
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 137,719
US/Canada gross: $97,170
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $123,440
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,632
US/Canada opening weekend: $12,955
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $16,457
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,577
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): 850000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $1,079,796
Production budget ranking: 2,087
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $581,470
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): -$398,380
ROI to date (est.): -24%
ROI ranking: 1,526
Bogdan Dumitrache – Barbu
Ilinca Goia – Carmen
Florin Zamfirescu – Domnul Fagarasanu
Vlad Ivanov – Dinu Laurentiu
Mimi Branescu – Policeman
Director(s)
Calin Peter Netzer
Writer(s)
Razvan Radulescu, Calin Peter Netzer
Producer(s)
Oana Giurgiu, Calin Peter Netzer, Ada Solomon
Film Festivals
Berlin, Toronto
Awards & Nominations
13 wins & 8 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (85) | Top Critics (42) | Fresh (78) | Rotten (7)
Another powerfully observed Romanian drama.
October 1, 2014 | Rating: 3/5
David Parkinson
Empire Magazine
TOP CRITIC
Razvan Radulescu’s screenplay is rich in irony and reversals, highlighting tensions between generations, and between the wealthy elite and the people whose lives are blighted by the elite’s unthinking behaviour and desperation to cling to its status.
October 1, 2014 | Rating: 3/5
Geoffrey Macnab
Independent (UK)
TOP CRITIC
Despite these effective touches, the film eventually becomes a bit monotonous: it’s clear from very early on that Cornelia is a terrible person, but this doesn’t stop Netzer from hammering home the point.
May 19, 2014 | Rating: 3/5
Jake Wilson
The Age (Australia)
TOP CRITIC
A dark piece of neorealism – and a searing indictment of Eastern Europe’s newly moneyed classes …
April 11, 2014 | Rating: 3.5/4
Steven Rea
Philadelphia Inquirer
TOP CRITIC
A Romanian political allegory – in Romanian – might sound like tough sledding, but thanks to a searing performance by Luminita Gheorghiu, “Child’s Pose” is anything but.
April 3, 2014 | Rating: 4/5
Bill Goodykoontz
Arizona Republic
TOP CRITIC
Perversely engrossing thanks to Gheorghiu’s performance as the queen of denial.
March 20, 2014 | Rating: 3/4
John Anderson
Newsday
TOP CRITIC
It’s an acting tour de force and she (Gheorghiu) carries the film in a terrifying portrayal of both obsessive mother-love and also the symbolic privilege of her position
June 7, 2019 | Rating: 4/5
Alexa Dalby
Dog and Wolf
Gheorghiu’s performance is so complex, so nimble and unpredictable, it’s breathtaking.
April 3, 2019 | Rating: 7.5/10
Bernard Boo
Way Too Indie
Child’s Pose locks you into its complex tale of emotional (and familial) blackmail from the very beginning, whilst never feeling the need to descend into out-and-out melodramatic.
March 5, 2019 | Rating: 4/5
Daniel Green
CineVue
Filled with strong performances, especially from Gheorghiu, who makes out of Cornelia something more than just a campy overbearing matron.
August 31, 2018 | Rating: 3.5/5
Pat Padua
Spectrum Culture
By the time Child’s Pose ended all I could do was say “Man, that was a great movie.”
August 26, 2018 | Rating: 4/4
Terence Johnson
AwardsCircuit.com
From a beginning that merely sketches the outlines of Cornelia’s upper-class existence – she could be a contender for “The Real Housewives of Bucharest” – “Child’s Pose” takes on more emotional substance as it develops.
February 17, 2018
Steve Erickson
Gay City News…
Plot
Seeing a way to reassert control over her adult son’s life when he faces manslaughter charges, an affluent Romanian woman sets out on a campaign of emotional and social manipulation to keep him out of prison, navigating the waters of power, corruption and influence. Child’s Pose is based on the sense of loss of parents who have to send their children away-physically and psychologically. The parent-child relationship is re-assessed through a son in his 30s that wants to escape from his mother, who in turn wants to keep her adult son by her side. The mother’s character is quite familiar, but this film is unique in that the director delicately portrays how the controlling mother wants to deny that her son is destined to leave her by following the characters’ emotional flows and gazing at their twisted desires. Luminita Gheorghiu turns in an extraordinary performance in playing a mother struggling to “save” her son. Heading to the conclusion, the film shows that the unhealthy mother-son relationship is not that simple when it comes to matters of humane duty.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Luminita Gheorghiu’s performance as Cornelia is described as a “terrifying portrayal of both obsessive mother-love and also the symbolic privilege of her position.”
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