With the kind of Best Actress buzz that An Education's Carey Mulligan is receiving, its no surprise that Sony Pictures Classics didn't speed up the adoption process on Rodrigo Garcia's Mother and Child. A late deal and a 2010 release is exactly what might help Annette Bening's own chances at repeat wins. You see, there is a group of people (including myself) that think that her take as a bitter, angry, old hag is a winning performance. I thought that the character initially came across as a facile and one dimensional but a little bit past the point where Jimmy Smits' character enters her life, her part gets tweaked ever so slightly - the emotional make-up of her character is made more complex. And if she receives this kind of attention, it could add weight to supporting actress nods for Naomi Watts?
SPC announced that they have picked up the rights to the pic and will try and they'll probably try and set a course that would allow the film to play before more festival audiences. the film has played at the Toronto International Film Festival and San Sebastian.
In overlapping stories, this is a drama centered around three women: A 50-year-old woman (Bening), the daughter (Watts) she gave up for adoption 35 years ago, and an African American woman (Kerry Washington) looking to adopt a child of her own. Its about the choices we make, the chances we miss, the opportunities we seize and the power of the unbreakable bond between a mother and her child.
Comments
Posted by colette3 on 2009-11-03 at 09:55:14
I really liked Nine Lives, and appreciate how he writes such intelligent and layered dialogue for female characters. I'll be looking forward to seeing this film.
Posted by steandric on 2009-11-08 at 07:31:47
The official cast listing published at both the Toronto and San Sebastian Film Festivals, and at other public screening, all show this film stars in the order of Naomi Watts, Annette Bening, Kerry Washington, Jimmy Smits, and Samuel L Jackson. Ms. Watts is the first listed LEADing actress, with Bening supporting, the most 2nd listed co-lead.
Also so far, Watts has been leading in the promotion for the film sans Bening and her performance is reviewed as excellent, and of Best Actress substance and nomination quality.
Watts' chance here is not supporting, definitely not to Bening's. Regards.
Posted by chumsley on 2009-11-08 at 07:51:11
Yes, I've read some reviews and they all praised Naomi Watts' lead performance as outstanding and not the least supporting. If people want to hype Bening's, let it not be at the expense of Watts' which deserves an equal recognition.