Birth

Synopsis: Anna (Nicole Kidman) is a beautiful young widow whose husband, Sean, dropped dead while jogging in Central Park 10 years earlier. Finally she seems ready to move on and agrees to marry Joseph (Danny Huston), a wealthy, debonaire man who has pursued her for three years. At their engagement party a young 10-year-old boy, also called Sean (Cameron Bright) appears, beseeching Anna not to marry Joseph, and declaring that he is in fact Anna’s dead husband. At first annoyed, perplexed and sceptical, Anna is gradually drawn into the young boy’s world with devastating effects upon her life, her mental state and her family.

Birth is not so much a tale of supernatural possibilities as a powerful look at the nature of grief and loss. It is also a fine examination of how, even in the face of rationality, the overwhelming desire to believe can make the heart overrule the head.

The film will probably cause ripples of controversy, especially with the already infamous bath scene and prudes will no doubt mutter about paedophilic tendencies but this nonsense aside, here is a compelling story, cleverly crafted and cemented by compelling performances from all, in particular the two leads. The chemistry between them is crucial to the film’s working, Kidman is made for this role and conveys deep conflicting emotions while young Cameron Bright displays a charisma, intensity and maturity beyond his age. The supporting cast is also strong. Lauren Bacall is sternly matriarchal as Eleanor, Anna’s mother, Huston superb as the suave Joseph, who gradually reveals a less admirable side to his personality, while there are small but important roles of Anna’s friends, Clara (Anne Heche) and Clifford (Peter Stormare).

Director and co-writer Glazer has a talent at crafting the feel and look of a film. The juxtaposition of Anna's mother's magnificent but over-ordered Manhattan apartment and the winter bareness of Central Park adds greatly to our understanding of the hard-won nature of her composure. Close-ups are used to great effect, with one memorable scene, lingering for more than a minute, of Kidman’s face as she crumbles internally but maintains an appearance of composure. Lighting is also critical and effectively contributing to the overall sense of inquietude that has us questioning what is really going on. The long opening scene of husband Sean jogging through a grey wintry landscape creates an inexplicable tension which is mirrored in many later scenes in which we see characters in the half light, brooding and disturbed.

Although the explanation of the film's puzzle is arrived at by a rather credulity-stretching twist (and even accepting it we still wonder how could Sean the boy have known where Sean the husband died) and editorial sleight of hand, it is to its credit that we are left with an unsettling vision of substantial emotional force.

 

 

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