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MOTHER AND CHILDMovie Reviews
Drama featuring three parallel stories about the effects of adoption and the nature of motherhood. Cast:Naomi Watts, Annette Bening, Kerry Washington, Jimmy Smits, Samuel L. JacksonDirector:Rodrigo GarcíaRelease Date:May 7, 2010DVD Release:December 14, 2010From:Sony ClassicsRating:RLength:2 hr 5 min
Mother and Child played in key cities to good reviews. • Sara Vilkomerson wrote in People, "...timely and at times gut-wrenching... the three lead actresses — supported with great turns by Samuel L. Jackson and Jimmy Smits — have never been better." • And Ty Burr wrote in the Boston Globe, "Bening simply rescues 'Mother and Child' from itself, or comes close enough." More Reviews Below...
Mother and Child Positive Reviews (42 Reviews, reviews below)
Sara Vilkomerson, People: VERY GOOD(cg) "...timely and at times gut-wrenching... the three lead actresses -- supported with great turns by Samuel L. Jackson and Jimmy Smits -- have never been better."(See all of Sara Vilkomerson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 137 words, 05/06/10
Thelma Adams, Us Weekly: MODERATE(cg) "Bening's performance is atypically fussy, with her hands rising up in front of her face when she gets excited. The result: modern gloss on an old-fashioned melodrama."(See all of Thelma Adams's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 96 words, 05/06/10
Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...like a femme-friendly spa that specializes in treatments for the psyche rather than the skin.... the characters never rise above being sample clientele."(See all of Lisa Schwarzbaum's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 247 words, 05/07/10
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: VERY GOOD(cg) "Dynamite performances from Annette Bening and Naomi Watts ignite this strong drama from writer-director Rodrigo Garcia... an emotional powerhouse."(See all of Peter Travers's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 234 words, 04/30/10
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NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES/CHICAGO/TORONTO (13 Reviews)
A.O. Scott, New York Times: GOOD "Its restraint and the patience of its scenes are arrestingly at odds with the emotional tumult seething just under the surface.... you can believe just about everyone in it."(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 798 words, 05/07/10
Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News: MODERATE(cg) "...credit goes to these committed actors... Garcia often appears so impressed by his own ideas that he neglects to allow either characters or incidents to unfold naturally."(See all of Elizabeth Weitzman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 350 words, 05/07/10
Michael Phillips, Los Angeles Times/Chicago Tribune: GOOD "...the characters and their dilemmas hold your interest, which is, after all, job one in this business we call classy, well-acted soap opera. Hold the suds."(See all of Michael Phillips's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 495 words, 05/07/10
Kyle Smith, New York Post: VERY GOOD(cg) "...reclaims some cinematic space for the low-key character study that has largely been ceded to the small screen. It treats its characters with a graceful sorrow."(See all of Kyle Smith's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 661 words, 05/07/10
David Edelstein, New York Magazine: VERY GOOD "...suffused with grief and loss. It's also suffused with compassion and insight.... Kerry Washington has a marvelous, Mary Tyler Moore-ish goosiness."(See all of David Edelstein's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 397 words, 05/03/10
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: OUTSTANDING(cg) "Of all the performances, Samuel L. Jackson's is the most surprising.... This film provides a reminder of his subtlety."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 734 words, 05/20/10
Melissa Anderson, Village Voice/LA Weekly: EXCELLENT "...takes potentially banal subjects -- what defines 'family,' biological parents versus those who adopt -- and transforms them into something powerful."(See all of Melissa Anderson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 719 words, 05/05/10
Greg Quill, Toronto Star: OUTSTANDING(cg) "That Garcia manages to spin three rich and complex yarns without ever losing hold of the main thread is evidence of a keen eye and an exceptionally curious mind."(See all of Greg Quill's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 693 words, 05/14/10
Rick Groen, Toronto Globe & Mail: MODERATE(cg) "...rightly asserts that life's facts can be messy, but then wrongly insists that it's fiction's job to clean them up."(See all of Rick Groen's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 652 words, 05/14/10
Susan G. Cole, Toronto Now: EXCELLENT(cg) "Rodrigo García obviously has a huge fan base in the acting community and has attracted a terrific cast.... Watts is hugely effective... But this is really Bening's movie."(See all of Susan G. Cole's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 481 words, 05/13/10
KEY CITIES (14 Reviews)
Ann Hornaday, Washington Post: MODERATE(cg) "Garcia brings his finely calibrated sense of drama to the subject of adoption... at least until the film's maudlin, too-pat finale."(See all of Ann Hornaday's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 487 words, 05/21/10
Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer: VERY GOOD(cg) "...boasts passionate performances from Annette Bening, Kerry Washington, and Naomi Watts under García's most compassionate (and faith-driven) direction."(See all of Carrie Rickey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 595 words, 05/21/10
Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: VERY GOOD(cg) "Eventually, all of the stories will come together in a somewhat contrived way. The film's parts are greater than the whole. But the parts are worth the effort."(See all of Bill Goodykoontz's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 367 words, 06/04/10
Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post: OUTSTANDING(cg) "The rhythms are measured... The situations can be so heightened as to tempt doubt.... it all seems a bit much. But then, life can be a bit much."(See all of Lisa Kennedy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 561 words, 05/21/10
Shawn Levy, Portland Oregonian: VERY GOOD(cg) "...features strong work by a gallery of actresses... [but] like a finely-written and -acted soap opera, it's less like life than you'd hope."(See all of Shawn Levy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 246 words, 05/21/10
Calvin Wilson, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: VERY GOOD(cg) "Bening is impressive... Washington persuasively embodies the frustrated Lucy. Watts is nothing short of terrific... And Jackson's subdued performance is just right."(See all of Calvin Wilson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 317 words, 06/04/10
Tom Long, Detroit News: GOOD(cg) "With its primal subject matter and dazzling array of talent, 'Mother and Child' is something of a can't-miss proposition, although it manages to miss at times anyway."(See all of Tom Long's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 306 words, 06/04/10
Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: MODERATE(cg) "The first half has a steely, engaging fire... starts to go soft in the middle, and teary melodrama floods in like water from a broken dam."(See all of Rene Rodriguez's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 452 words, 06/04/10
ALTERNATIVE/INDIE PRESS (6 Reviews)
Melissa Anderson, Village Voice/LA Weekly: EXCELLENT "...takes potentially banal subjects -- what defines 'family,' biological parents versus those who adopt -- and transforms them into something powerful."(See all of Melissa Anderson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 719 words, 05/05/10
Tom Meek, Boston Phoenix: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "Director Rodrigo Garcia, who navigated similar terrain with 'Nine Lives,' seems to have cinematic mother issues that require the audience to sign on as therapist."(See all of Tom Meek's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 131 words, 05/13/10
Keith Phipps, AV Club: VERY GOOD(cg) "Garcia shoots with minimal flare, an approach that keeps the focus squarely on the cast, whose moving work helps pave over some of the narrative's lumpier patches."(See all of Keith Phipps's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 425 words, 05/06/10
Susan G. Cole, Toronto Now: EXCELLENT(cg) "Rodrigo García obviously has a huge fan base in the acting community and has attracted a terrific cast.... Watts is hugely effective... But this is really Bening's movie."(See all of Susan G. Cole's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 481 words, 05/13/10
Ted Scheinman, Washington City Paper: MODERATE "...neither provokes nor engages.... Bening is a high point in the film, matched in counterpoint by the slick, driven Naomi Watts... this is book-of-the-month club cinema."(See all of Ted Scheinman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 359 words, 05/27/10
HIGHBROW PRESS (4 Reviews)
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: POOR "...a case of three exceptional actresses -- Bening, Watts and Washington -- constituting an ensemble of obviousness.... beats with the ardent heart of a telenovela."(See all of Joe Morgenstern's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 341 words, 05/07/10
A.O. Scott, New York Times: GOOD "Its restraint and the patience of its scenes are arrestingly at odds with the emotional tumult seething just under the surface.... you can believe just about everyone in it."(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 798 words, 05/07/10
David Edelstein, NPR Fresh Air: OUTSTANDING " 'Mother and Child' is -- there's no getting around it -- devastating. But it's the best, the fullest, the most life-affirming pain I've felt at a movie in years."(See all of David Edelstein's reviews...)(Listen to the full review...) 370 seconds, 05/14/10
Michael Phillips, Los Angeles Times: GOOD "...the characters and their dilemmas hold your interest, which is, after all, job one in this business we call classy, well-acted soap opera. Hold the suds."(See all of Michael Phillips's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 495 words, 05/07/10
MOVIE INDUSTRY (6 Reviews)
Todd McCarthy, Daily Variety: EXCELLENT "...compellingly addresses human emotions, ties and behavior that could not be more elemental... fantastic work by Watts, Bening and Samuel L. Jackson, in particular."(See all of Todd McCarthy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,139 words, 09/16/09
Kirk Honeycutt, Hollywood Reporter: EXCELLENT "Sorrow, anxiety, hope and denial run through these parallel lives. The three remarkable actresses wonderfully play one of the hardest things of all - ambivalence."(See all of Kirk Honeycutt's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 649 words, 09/15/09
Michael Phillips, Los Angeles Times: GOOD "...the characters and their dilemmas hold your interest, which is, after all, job one in this business we call classy, well-acted soap opera. Hold the suds."(See all of Michael Phillips's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 495 words, 05/07/10
Emanuel Levy, Cinema 24/7: GOOD(cg) "...tells the predictable, intermittently moving story of three women... There is no ambiguity -- emotional, narrative -- and every single detail is depicted and explained."(See all of Emanuel Levy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,624 words, 03/28/10
A.O. Scott, New York Times: GOOD "Its restraint and the patience of its scenes are arrestingly at odds with the emotional tumult seething just under the surface.... you can believe just about everyone in it."(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 798 words, 05/07/10
Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: POOR "...a case of three exceptional actresses -- Bening, Watts and Washington -- constituting an ensemble of obviousness.... beats with the ardent heart of a telenovela."(See all of Joe Morgenstern's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 341 words, 05/07/10
14.6 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
Mother and Child's reviews are separated by an average 14.6 percentage points. The norm for this measure is 18.4 percentage points. Less than 18.4 indicates more consistent reviews; greater than 18.4 indicates more mixed reviews. In the chart below, each dot represents a review, with the dots at the top more positive than the dots at the bottom. From left to right, the dots represent reviews in big, bigger and biggest publications. Roll over each dot for more detail.
Mother and Child (42 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:Mother and Child's reviews cover 85.6% of potential readers (average is 67.9%). Volume:The film's reviews total 20,357 words involume (average is 20,194 words). Length:The film's reviews average 485 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
Reviews Broke 2.8 Hours After Release (Norm is 1.2 Release)
Mother and Child's reviews on average broke 2.8 hours after opening. Norm for this measure is 1.2 hours before. The chart below shows reviews on opening day and the days before and after opening; the left side is earlier and the right side is later. The red bars extending above the horizontal mid-line represent more positive reviews, and the red bars extending below represent more negative reviews. The white space/red bar in the middle is Mother and Child's opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
Mother and Child (42 reviews, click on bars for reviews)
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