Good As It Gets

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I've just come from the first TIFF screening of Rodrigo Garcia's Mother and Child, and if someone picks it up and puts it into NY and LA theatres before 12.31, it's a Best Picture contender. Because sophisticated filmgoers of a certain age are going to cream over this. All right, don't trust me...I don't care. I know what I know and I go to sleep with that every night.

This is a great woman's film except it isn't, not really, because it got to me big-time and I generally don't fall for films aimed at the opposite genre market so go figure. It's so good and so exactingly and humanistically right that a fair-sized portion of the Julie and Julia audience may reject it because it's not coarse or common enough.

On top of this Annette Bening, who gives what I feel is possibly the best performance of her life in this film, will be a Best Actress contender.

I know what Mother and Child is and I'm not going all breathless and gah-gah because that's what some critics do when they see a new film at a film festival. For what it is -- a super-sensitive, perfectly acted and exquisitely written adult drama about (the title kind of indicates this) mothers and daughters and parenting and re-establishing connections, Mother and Child is really and truly as good as this sort of thing gets. It's got Fox Searchlight or Focus Features written all over it.

That's all I have time to say right now. I'm at an IFC dinner party and I'm tapping this out on a bar and I don't want be rude to my hosts.

Do You Party?<< previous | next >>Agony of the Todd

Posted by Jeffrey Wells on September 14, 2009 at 5:37 PM

comment #1

raygo says ...

Bening can face off with Hillary Swank again for the Oscar. That'll be fun.

Posted by raygo at September 14, 2009 7:06 PM

comment #2

renorambler says ...

This wasn't even on my radar but Bening is a phenomenal actress so I hope she gets a nomination. Hmmm, could it be Muligan against Bening for BA?

Posted by renorambler at September 14, 2009 7:10 PM

comment #3

televisiontears says ...

"I know what I know and I go to sleep with that every night."

I love this line so much and I can't really describe why.

Posted by televisiontears at September 14, 2009 7:36 PM

comment #4

Gabe Rodriguez says ...

Wow, Jeff...I had written this off as a sure-bet also-ran for the fall fest circuit given Garcia's ham-fisted attempts at theatrical directing thus far ("Passengers" was horribly guided; even "Nine Lives" carried the air of a Lifetime movie-of-the-week despite its cast of strong ladies), the weepy on-the-nose title "Mother and Child," and the cast of proven greats all of whom have tripped into disastrous projects due to lack of foresight (Bening in "Running with Scissors," Watts in "Le Divorce," Washington in "Fantastic Four," etc.).

You're the last person I'd ever expect to step up as an advocate for "Mother and Child," which makes everything you've said here remarkably believable.

Posted by Gabe Rodriguez at September 14, 2009 7:47 PM

comment #5

googs says ...

How was Sam Jackson in it? I love Sam but he hasn't given a tame performance in a while.

Posted by googs at September 14, 2009 8:23 PM

comment #6

DeeZee says ...

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Posted by DeeZee at September 14, 2009 8:28 PM

comment #7

Deathtongue_Groupie says ...

Yes, Daniel, the rest of us read MCN too.

And you still managed to miss the story of the day: Dalton is Dead (while ironically linking to a story about the RED DAWN remake no less)

Posted by Deathtongue_Groupie at September 14, 2009 8:33 PM

comment #8

DeeZee says ...

Deathtongue: Josh mentioned it another thread, so I'm just waiting for Jeff to make an official update.

Posted by DeeZee at September 14, 2009 8:39 PM

comment #9

DeeZee says ...

Seth McFarlane's aggressive Emmy marketing campaign. http://www.youtube.com/user/WheresMyEmmy

Posted by DeeZee at September 14, 2009 9:54 PM

comment #10

BurmaShave says ...

Dee, "Tomas Alfredson to direct THE DANISH GIRL" would be the real headline, that is if you actually cared about movies.

Posted by BurmaShave at September 14, 2009 10:08 PM

comment #11

moorish says ...

" I generally don't fall for films aimed at the opposite genre".

In many ways this typo absolutely makes the article for me. The battle of the sexes summarised through the power of storytelling genres.

Posted by moorish at September 15, 2009 3:16 AM

comment #12

Pomerania says ...

love your column Jeff. Always check it in with it. Others are bland in comparison to you. But why do you refer to this film as a Woman's film simply because the central characters are female? Does that preclude it having universal appeal? Do you have an insight into what a fundamentally patronising attitude that is?

Posted by Pomerania at September 15, 2009 5:42 AM

comment #13

Blepyrus says ...

Delroy Lindo was supposed to play Sam Jackson's part.

Posted by Blepyrus at September 15, 2009 6:10 AM

comment #14

Noiresque says ...

Fantastic news! I'm a huge Rodrigo Garcia fan. His multi-character plots in Nine Stories, Things You Can Tell Just By Looking At Her and In Treatment always interest me.

So it is a shame about the presence of Annette Bening. It's her face - her pretty, pert and snarling self-satisfaction is a total turn off. She's someone I just can't bare to watch in anything, including The Grifters.

Posted by Noiresque at September 15, 2009 6:14 AM

comment #15

JohnCope says ...

Maybe Bening and Firth can both win this year and we can have a Valmont reunion. That would be awesome!

Posted by JohnCope at September 15, 2009 8:31 AM

comment #16

propecia says ...

But why do you refer to this film as a Woman's film simply because the central characters are female?

Posted by propecia at November 9, 2009 3:07 AM

comment #17

Terramundi says ...

Yes obviously if a female is the lead character it is usually referred as female centric movie.

Posted by Terramundi at November 9, 2009 12:04 PM

comment #18

gaiko says ...

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gaiko says ...

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Posted by gaiko at November 17, 2009 4:54 AM

comment #20

badpete says ...

Maybe Bening and Firth can both win this year and we can have a Valmont reunion. That would be awesome!

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Posted by badpete at December 8, 2009 2:42 AM

comment #21

doublexjohn says ...

Annette Bening and Naomi Watts will headline "Mother and Child," a multilayered drama from scripter and helmer Rodrigo Garcia.

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comment #22

sparesr4sissies says ...

I'm still waiting to see this movie. Thanks for the reviews, I look forward to seeing it.

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Posted by sparesr4sissies at December 13, 2009 5:43 PM

comment #23

badpete says ...

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comment #24

badpete says ...

Maybe Bening and Firth can both win this year and we can have a Valmont reunion. That would be awesome!

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Posted by badpete at December 18, 2009 7:29 AM

comment #25

badpete says ...

Dee, "Tomas Alfredson to direct THE DANISH GIRL" would be the real headline, that is if you actually cared about movies.

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comment #26

badpete says ...

love your column Jeff. Always check it in with it. Others are bland in comparison to you.

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Posted by badpete at December 21, 2009 9:33 AM

comment #27

badpete says ...

Wow, Jeff...I had written this off as a sure-bet also-ran for the fall fest circuit given Garcia's ham-fisted attempts at theatrical directing thus far ("Passengers" was horribly guided

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Posted by badpete at December 21, 2009 10:45 PM

comment #28

badpete says ...

Delroy Lindo was supposed to play Sam Jackson's part.

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comment #29

poosc says ...

Great I can't wait, love your column.

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Posted by poosc at December 27, 2009 3:09 PM

comment #30

badpete says ...

Annette Bening and Naomi Watts will headline "Mother and Child," a multilayered drama from scripter and helmer Rodrigo Garcia.

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Posted by badpete at December 28, 2009 10:29 AM

comment #31

badpete says ...

This wasn't even on my radar but Bening is a phenomenal actress so I hope she gets a nomination. Hmmm, could it be Muligan against Bening for BA?

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Posted by badpete at December 30, 2009 10:12 AM

comment #32

atish says ...

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comment #33

dd says ...

In many ways this typo absolutely makes the article for me. The battle of the sexes summarised through the power of storytelling genres.

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Posted by dd at May 11, 2010 11:25 PM

comment #34

KarenJones says ...

I'll need to check this out as I've always liked Annette Bening as an actress.
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Posted by Hotest Chili at December 3, 2010 8:19 AM

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