A Review by Phil Calabro
2004, New Line Cinema, Dir. Jonathan Glazer - Starring Nicole Kidman, Cameron Bright, Danny Huston, Lauren Bacall, Peter Stormare, Anne Heche, Alison Elliot, Arliss Howard, Michael DeSautels, Ted Levine, Cara Seymour, Joe Chalmers
I didn't think it would be possible that the sequel to 'Godsend' could be made the same year it came out. The film has everything the original had - bad acting, bad writing, bad....everything. It's beyond my belief that people like Jonathan Glazer are actually allowed to make films with premises so thin that they could make wallpaper. In a movie that had so much potential, it dumps every shred of it for some flick that's too self-indulgent and narcissistic instead of making the audience actually enjoy it. 'Birth' is like a minimalistic psycho-thriller, without any thrill, no theme, no coherence, and nothing interesting.
10 years ago, a young woman named Anna (Kidman) lost her husband Sean (DeSautels) when he died of heart failure while running on his morning jog. Since the years have past, she has found a new lover named Joseph (Huston), who has finally convinced Anna to marry him. With the days to the marriage narrowing the down, a surprise arrives when a young boy (Bright) arrives at their house and tries to tell Anna that he is Sean, the reincarnation of her husband. Traumatized and weirded out by the situation, Anna tries to ignore his calling. But when he begins to reminesce fond memories of their relationship, she eventually becomes convinced to the point of infatuation that he is truly her husband. But close family members such as Clifford (Stomare) and Clara (Heche) seem to think the new 'Sean's act is a tad fishy.
Never have I seen Nicole Kidman in such a terrible role as this - she is uninterested entirely with the film, almost as if this is some sort of extra chore on her large resume. She becomes completely disconnected with the audience and her cast members because of her dreadfully boring attitude and false impressions of love and obsession. It's about time that Nicole took a long break, and some acting refreshers. As I have said before, Cameron Bright is one of those child actors that make you want to rip out your hair. He is oblivious to the fact that his constant bizarre nature is annoying to many audience members (hint hint myself) and that his role is wasted on some stupid kid who doesn't talk at all. Danny Huston's character is probably the only interesting one, as well as the most enlivened, almost maniacal in a way. But his screen presence is so limited that it is easily forgettable - the same applies to Anne Heche's character of Clara.
The number one problem with this movie? It is unexplicably boring. I had to sit through watching Nicole Kidman's motionless visage for over a five minute interval without anything happening. Obviously the director Jonathan Glazer mistook pretentious garbage for style, otherwise he would've wisely chopped out every one of those scenes. There was nothing more painstaking than watching someone's expression with no effect at all, almost making me think that (literally) watching paint dry was a helluva lot more fun (hint hint I smell a movie idea). Second problem? It's not spellbinding whatsoever. At least Godsend had a horror plotline, but this one involves nothing scary or remotely frightening except for the possible scene where 'Sean' talks about what he remembers when he was with Anna. Other than that, it feels more like a drama than a psychological thriller - which makes a difference in the way it is filmed. And thirdly, it tries too hard with shock value. It seems sad that the only way to garner attention to this film was to promote that it was the one cheap way to get Nicole Kidman naked in a bathtub with a 9-year old. (Editor's Note: Weird.)
Why, oh why do I sit through this trash? Why I haven't I developed some sort of clairvoyance that makes me avoid horrible films such as these? All I can say is to not see this movie - it's not worth your time, money, or sanity. It's a movie that will make you feel stupid as an audience member for not appreciating, but in the end, it is you who will get the last laugh. Find something else to spend your money with, find a new hobby, just not 'Birth'.
