Mother and Child

         
A mother is someone who loves you even when she scolds you. What sets the relationship between a mother and child apart is the constant, never-ending love that a mother gives. 

A few months back, I saw this movie," Mother and Child", on a lazy Sunday when the TV channels had spared us girls the perennial dose of weekend mindless action flicks. Though a bit slow, the movie blew me away. Karen (Annette Bening) is a nurse who is so uptight and blunt that you start hating her in the movie's first half. But then, director Rodrigo Garcia starts unfolding all the layers of Karen's personality in a way that your hatred will get soaked in her difficult yet vulnerable character. She has a past of getting pregnant at the age of 14 and giving away her daughter for adoption.

Elizabeth (Naomi Watts), Karen's daughter, dwarfs men around her with her self-control. Elizabeth is a successful lawyer who uses her sex appeal for things you understand days after watching the movie. Garcia has left it to his viewers to figure out the intent behind most of her actions. 

Lucy (Kerry Washington) is an Afro-American woman who wants to adopt after unsuccessfully trying to have a baby. Her husband, who is too upset at not having a baby of his own, blames her for all the misery. Kerry Washington has enacted the frustration of a childless woman so well that your heart would reach out to her.

Three women. And the movie links them beautifully. There is a time when Garcia surprises you with a beautiful turn of events. I do not want to spoil it for you. 

You should watch the movie for the near-perfect performance of Annette Bening, who displays a character we all have come across in our lives at some point. Her inability to be happy because of her thoughts about her daughter will move you.

And Elizabeth is another tough nut. In pain, but strong. You would be intrigued by her nonchalance when she sleeps with her boss, and he offers her a promotion. " I will get it on my own," she says.

The movie is for everyone who loves serious cinema. And for those who want to explore the bond that a mother and a child share, the pain, the agony, the happiness all surrounding motherhood, from a distance.