Mother and Child is one of a certain kind of movie that I always find difficult to watch. I think this is because it deals seriously with the emotions of our own mortality, which is a good thing, but its only message concerning how to deal with this difficult issue is to “cling tighter,” which I do not find a very comforting or useful prescription – quite the opposite, in fact!

But setting this aside, Mother and Child strikes me as a serious and well-crafted piece of work, one that definitely keeps you engaged. At the center of the film are two of the most horrible, emotionally fucked-up shrews to ever grace the silver screen. For a long time it is rather difficult to watch these horrible woman acting out on everyone – when Jimmy Smits tells off Annette Benning for being a total bitch on wheels, you kind of want to cheer. Luckily, the performances in these roles (Annette Benning, Naomi Watts) are really excellent. There is a somber honesty about their approach to the characters that allows them to grow convincingly as the movie moves forward. Sam Jackson is great in a supporting role. Plus, this film featured quite a few personal favorite character actors that you don’t see much: Amy Brenneman, Jimmy Smits, and Marc Blucas from The Jane Austen Book Club, Elizabeth Peña from Lone Star, and most notably the marvelous Kerry Washington – it’s very nice to see a talented and warm actresses like her landing good, dignified lead roles!

The writing in this film, while rather painful at times, is quite strong and engaging. There are a bunch of really memorable scenes in this film that you find yourself thinking about afterwards. Sometimes the style of the dialog reminded me a little of the mid-nineties indie renaissance – think Lone Star. It was not quite up to that level, but was still very refreshing compared to the general aversion to dialog exhibited by most modern filmmakers.

I would recommend this film. It is well-written and well-acted, decently paced, has a pretty decent score, and it doesn’t crap out in the end. Just don’t expect a very uplifting experience when watching it!