Mother and Child

Mother and Child is a compassionate, multi-threaded tale about the lives of everyday women. Rodrigo Garcia’s film takes potentially banal subjects — what defines “family,” biological parents versus those who adopt — and transforms them into something powerful. The film focuses on three women: defensive physical therapist Karen (Annette Bening), who lives with her ailing mother and writes letters to the daughter she gave up for adoption; steely attorney Elizabeth (Naomi Watts), adopted at birth and free of emotional attachments to anyone; and high-strung bakery owner Lucy (Kerry Washington), who begins the process of adoption with her husband. Garcia’s strenuous avoidance of another reproductive choice disappoints — none of the pregnant women, regardless of age or financial security, discuss abortion. The sanctity of the titular connection is real, as are the characters Garcia creates. But in not addressing an option that these women surely must have grappled with, Garcia’s laudable film stops short of being great.