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"BIRTH"
(2004) (Nicole Kidman, Cameron Bright) (R)

Alcohol/
Drugs
Blood/Gore Disrespectful/
Bad Attitude
Frightening/
Tense Scenes
Guns/
Weapons
Minor None Moderate Mild None
Imitative
Behavior
Jump
Scenes
Music
(Scary/Tense)
Music
(Inappropriate)
Profanity
Minor None Minor None Mild
Sex/
Nudity
Smoking Tense Family
Scenes
Topics To
Talk About
Violence
Extreme Minor Moderate Moderate Mild


QUICK TAKE:
Drama: A newly engaged widow must deal the arrival of a 10-year-old boy who claims to be her long dead husband and is against her marrying another man.
PLOT:
It's been ten years since her husband Sean (MICHAEL DESAUTELS) died of a heart attack while jogging through Central Park. Finally, after all of those years, Anna's (NICOLE KIDMAN) finally fallen in love again and has just agree to marry the dashing and apparently well-to-do Joseph (DANNY HUSTON). That's to the delight of her mother Eleanor (LAUREN BACALL) and sister Laura (ALISON ELLIOT) and her husband Bob (ARLISS HOWARD) who are living with Anna while their house is being redone.

On the night of Eleanor's birthday, a party has assembled at Anna's place, including her and Sean's old friends Clifford (PETER STORMARE) and Clara (ANNE HECHE) who she hasn't seen in years. Clara's acting weird and buries her gift in Central Park before attending, but the most notable stranger is Sean (CAMERON BRIGHT). He's a very solemn 10-year-old who matter-of-factly tells Anna that he's Sean, meaning her long-deceased husband, and that she shouldn't marry Joseph.

No one believes him, but the boy won't recant his story, even to his estranged parents (TED LEVINE & CARA SEYMOUR) who report that he's not acting like himself anymore. As Joseph becomes increasingly irritated by the boy and his presence and claims, Anna soon starts to believe that the boy might really be the reincarnation of her husband. From that point on, and as the boy answers questions only the adult Sean would have known, Anna must decide how to proceed with this unsettling but somewhat comforting revelation.

WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?
Unless they're fans of anyone in the cast, it doesn't seem too likely.
WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: R
For sexuality.
CAST AS ROLE MODELS:
  • NICOLE KIDMAN plays a widow who's finally found love in her life again only to have it and all she believes in challenged by young Sean's claim that he's her long dead husband. She has premarital sex with Joseph, but then finds herself falling for what she believes to be her reincarnated husband (inside a boy's body).
  • CAMERON BRIGHT plays the solemn 10-year-old boy who claims he's Anna's long dead husband.
  • DANNY HUSTON plays Anna's new fiancé who becomes increasingly irritated by Sean's presence and claims as well as Anna seemingly falling for the boy's story. He has premarital sex with her.
  • LAUREN BACALL plays Anna's mother who becomes concerned about her daughter regarding these new developments.
  • ALISON ELLIOT plays Anna's sister who wants her to stop believing in what she sees as pure nonsense.
  • ARLISS HOWARD plays her husband, a doctor who takes an analytic approach at investigating the boy's claims.
  • ANNE HECHE plays a former friend of Anna and her husband's who was having an affair with him in the past.
  • PETER STORMARE plays her husband who tries to help Anna in her predicament.
  • TED LEVINE and CARA SEYMOUR play the boy's estranged parents who try to deal with his unusual behavior and claims.
  • CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO

    HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE


    Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit?
    Then read OUR TAKE of this film.


    (Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below).


    OUR WORD TO PARENTS:
    The following is a brief summary of the content found in this R-rated drama. An engaged couple is seen having sex in a scene that turns more graphic as the camera zooms out to reveal a full, overhead view of missionary sex with nudity (bare butt, partial bare breasts), graphic movement and related sounds.

    Sexually related dialogue is present (including between a woman and a 10-year-old boy who claims to be her long dead, adult husband) and those two share a bath together nude (he's seen in his underwear before taking them off, she's already in the tub nude with brief and partial views of her breast). While nothing sexual occurs between them, the sexual undertones might be too disturbing for some viewers. Very brief profanity and a handful of colorful phrases are uttered.

    Beyond the potential pedophile issue, other bad attitudes are present, as are thematic elements (regarding death of a spouse, reincarnation, etc.) and related tense family material. A few characters smoke and others have varying forms of liquor in front of them. A man twice grabs and briefly gets physically violent with the 10-year-old boy, while a woman briefly does the same. Those scenes and one featuring an adult jogger collapsing and apparently dying might be unsettling or disturbing to some viewers.

    Should you still be concerned about the film's appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home, you may want to look more closely at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content.



    ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE
  • People raise a toast when Joseph announces that he and Anna are engaged.
  • Various family members and relatives have wine in front of them during dinner.
  • Joseph has cognac or something similar in a glass on the piano he's playing.
  • Eleanor and Anna have wine in front of them in a restaurant.
  • Clifford states that Clara left a bottle of wine in the car and we then see her enter Anna's place with it.
  • People have champagne at a wedding.
  • BLOOD/GORE
  • None.
  • DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE
  • Viewers may not like the sexual undertones between a grown woman and a 10-year-old boy (who claims to be her long dead, adult husband). They briefly talk about sexual matters, she lets him join her in a bathtub (where both are nude) and she talks of waiting eleven years so that she can marry him then.
  • After Anna gives a doorman money to put young Sean in a cab, the doorman pockets it and gives the boy some change to take the subway.
  • Sean disobeys his father's order to recant his story about being Anna's husband.
  • Sean tells his mother, "I'm not your stupid kid anymore" and she's upset over that and his other strange behavior.
  • Young Sean kicks Joseph's chair again (after being asked to stop) during an in-house concert. Joseph loses it, turns around and lunges at the boy, grabbing him by the leg and dragging him across the floor. He then goes at him again, violently spanking him before being pulled away by others.
  • It's implied that Clara was having an affair with Anna's husband in the past (Clara tells young Sean that she's was his lover).
  • FRIGHTENING SCENES
  • Anna's husband collapses in a short tunnel while jogging through Central Park and apparently dies.
  • After Anna tells Sean to leave her alone, the boy collapses in the hallway (his father is there to care for him).
  • Young Sean kicks Joseph's chair again (after being asked to stop) during an in-house concert. Joseph loses it, turns around and lunges at the boy, grabbing him by the leg and dragging him across the floor. Bob tries to intervene, but Joseph pushes him backwards until others grab Joseph and restrain him. He then gets free, pushes a piano into a doorway and then grabs the boy again, this time throttling him about before starting to spank him over his knee. Others intervene again and pull Joseph aside.
  • GUNS/WEAPONS
  • None.
  • IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR
  • Phrases: "Who the hell is he?" and "I'm not your stupid kid anymore."
  • Sean climbs way up into a tree in Central Park.
  • Young Sean sinks down beneath some bath water and stays there until Anna pulls him up.
  • JUMP SCENES
  • None.
  • MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE)
  • Some dramatic music plays in the film.
  • MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE)
  • None.
  • PROFANITY
  • At least 1 slang term for sex ("did it"), 1 hell and 1 use of "Christ."
  • SEX/NUDITY
  • We see Joseph having sensual sex with Anna in the missionary position. The overhead shot starts out close (showing just their heads and part of his bare back) and eventually zooms out to show their entire bodies. We then see his bare butt as he graphically thrusts between her spread legs while we see occasional glimpses of her bare breasts (we also hear both of their related sexual sounds).
  • When Bob asks young Sean to name something about the real Sean that he couldn't have read somewhere, the boy states that he and Anna "did it on your sofa."
  • As Anna and 10-year-old Sean talk, she asks how he'll fulfill her needs. He says he knows what she's talking about, prompting her to ask if he's ready for that and whether he's ever made love to a girl. He replies that she'd be his first.
  • We see Anna's bare back (and very brief/partial glimpses of her bare breast) as she sits in the bathtub facing away from the camera. Young Sean then enters and proceeds to strip down to his briefs. He then removes them and climbs into the tub with her, but we don't see any of his nudity and they don't make contact in the tub (but it will likely still seem too sexual for many viewers).
  • Young Sean kisses Anna on the lips in a slightly sensual manner.
  • It's implied that Clara was having an affair with Anna's husband in the past (Clara tells young Sean that she's his lover and then says that if he had come to her first, she might have explored this -- but what she means is never fully explained).
  • SMOKING
  • Sean's mother smokes once and a miscellaneous person smokes.
  • TENSE FAMILY SCENES
  • Ten years after her husband's unexpected death, we see Anna visiting his gravesite. When young Sean arrives and claims he's her last husband, that brings back a bunch of painful memories for her. It also creates some tension within her family.
  • We see a very brief funeral scene (from a distance) but the ceremony is erupting with some laughter at the moment.
  • Sean disobeys his father's order to recant his story about being Anna's husband.
  • Sean tells his mother, "I'm not your stupid kid anymore" and she's upset over that and his other strange behavior.
  • It's implied that Clara was having an affair with Anna's husband in the past, but it doesn't appear that Anna knew.
  • TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT
  • The notion of reincarnation.
  • Pedophilia.
  • Anna tells young Sean that her plan is that they'll run away together and wait eleven years so that she can marry him.
  • VIOLENCE
  • Young Sean kicks Joseph's chair again (after being asked to stop) during an in-house concert. Joseph loses it, turns around and lunges at the boy, grabbing him by the leg and dragging him across the floor. Bob tries to intervene, but Joseph pushes him backwards until others grab Joseph and restrain him. He then gets free, pushes a piano into a doorway and then grabs the boy again, this time briefly throttling him about before starting to spank him over his knee. Others intervene again and pull Joseph aside.
  • Clara grabs young Sean by the shirt, wrestles his backpack away from him and then pushes him up against a door with her arm.



  • Reviewed October 25, 2004 / Posted October 29, 2004

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