Mother and Child (2010)
81%RT Audience Score: 76%
Awards & Nominations: 4 wins & 12 nominations
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
Mother and Child is a heartwarming film that explores the complexities of family, love, and loss. While some critics found the first half to be a bit slow, the strong performances from the cast, especially Annette Bening, keep you invested in the story. It’s not a hard-hitting drama, but it’s definitely worth a watch if you’re in the mood for a soulful and emotional film. Plus, who doesn’t love a good ode to mothers and children? Just make sure you have some tissues handy!
Production Company(ies)
Pathé Consortium Cinéma Indusfilms Société Nouvelle Pathé Cinéma
Distributor
Sony Pictures Classics
Release Type
Theatrical, Theatrical (Limited)
Filming Location(s)
Los Angeles, California, USA
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for sexuality, brief nudity, and language
Year of Release
2010
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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:2h 6m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States, Spain
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): May 7, 2010 Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 14, 2010
Genre(s)
Drama
Keyword(s)
starring Annette Bening, Naomi Watts, Kerry Washington, Jimmy Smits, Samuel L Jackson, S Epatha Merkerson, directed by Rodrigo Garcia, written by Rodrigo Garcia, drama, adoption, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Deborah Ross, Candice Frederick, Dwight Brown, Nell Minow, Derek Malcolm, Felicia Feaster, Jamie Garwood, Tara Thorne, Kaleem Aftab, Sara Vilkomerson, Alejandro González Iñárittu, Lisa Falcone, Julie Lynn, MPAA rating R, physical therapist, successful lawyer, failed to conceive, family, love, loss, mother and child bond, forgiveness, adoption fallout, miscommunication, marriage, pregnancy, Christian ethic, happy ending, religious aspect
Worldwide gross: $5,621,971
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $7,642,432
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,046
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 833,417
US/Canada gross: $1,110,509
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $1,509,611
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,100
US/Canada opening weekend: $43,040
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $58,508
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,141
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $7,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $9,515,706
Production budget ranking: 1,694
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $5,124,207
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): -$6,997,482
ROI to date (est.): -48%
ROI ranking: 1,671
Annette Bening – Karen
Kerry Washington – Lucy
Jimmy Smits – Paco
Samuel L. Jackson – Paul
S. Epatha Merkerson – Ada
Director(s)
Rodrigo Garcia
Writer(s)
Rodrigo Garcia
Producer(s)
Lisa Falcone, Julie Lynn
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
4 wins & 12 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (128) | Top Critics (47) | Fresh (100) | Rotten (28)
Never lives up to the performances and the first half, particularly, is conducted so methodically it all feels rather sedated and even dreary.
August 31, 2018
Deborah Ross
The Spectator
TOP CRITIC
Mother and Child isn’t a hard-hitting drama, but rather a precious, soulful look at family, love, and loss.
September 8, 2017 | Rating: A
Candice Frederick
Reel Talk Online
TOP CRITIC
In the wrong hands, this film could have been grating melodrama. Under Garcia’s watchful eye, this is an ode to mothers and children who are lost but not forgotten.
November 8, 2016 | Rating: 3.5/4
Dwight Brown
National Newspaper Publishers Association
TOP CRITIC
February 18, 2012 | Rating: C
Nell Minow
Movie Mom
TOP CRITIC
Bening, consistently one of the best US screen actresses, is really the main reason to keep you watching.
January 6, 2012 | Rating: 3/5
Derek Malcolm
London Evening Standard
TOP CRITIC
The producer is Alejandro González Iñárittu, who has directed other karmic-coincidence dramas. This one looks mannered and gimmicky.
January 5, 2012 | Rating: 2/5
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian
TOP CRITIC
But the film’s flaws can’t dim its many virtues: Mother and Child has a depth and heart you don’t often find at the local multiplex.
January 22, 2020
Felicia Feaster
Charleston City Paper
Hackneyed and telegraphed, just about elevated to passable by three strong lead performances and notable support by Cherry Jones.
December 6, 2018 | Rating: 2/5
Jamie Garwood
CineVue
There are powerful moments and the cast is note-perfect.
November 17, 2018
Tara Thorne
The Coast (Halifax, Nova Scotia)
While Garcia’s principal preoccupation is with the fallout from adoption, it’s the secondary storylines about women in the work place, and the stresses of marriage and pregnancy that are the film’s strengths.
November 6, 2018 | Rating: 3/5
Kaleem Aftab
The List
Think of Mother and Child as the flip side to the flippant Juno: This timely and at times gut-wrenching movie focuses on three women affected by adoption.
August 6, 2018
Sara Vilkomerson
People Magazine
For the first time in a very long while, Bening disappears into a character and turns in a performance that isn’t about her shamelessly playing to the rafters to grab after Oscar.
April 8, 2012 | Rating: 3.5/4
Michael Dequina
TheMovieReport.com…
Plot
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 drawn to her. Finally, Lucy is a woman who has failed to conceive with her husband, so she turns to adoption to make the family she desires.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
The film features a stellar cast including Annette Bening, Naomi Watts, and Kerry Washington.
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