Synopsis
It took Anna 10 years to recover from the death of her husband, Sean, but now she's on the verge of marrying her boyfriend, Joseph, and finally moving on. However, on the night of her engagement party, a young boy named Sean turns up, saying he is her dead husband reincarnated. At first she ignores the child, but his knowledge of her former husband's life is uncanny, leading her to believe that he might be telling the truth.
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Cast
- Nicole KidmanAnna
- Cameron BrightYoung Sean
- Danny HustonJoseph
- Lauren BacallEleanor
- Alison ElliottLaura
- Arliss HowardBob
- Michael DesautelsSean
- Anne HecheClara
- Peter StormareClifford
- Ted LevineMr. Conte
Recommendations
- 100
Christian Science Monitor
The eerie tale is steeped in brooding atmosphere and psychological suspense thanks to Glazer's hugely imaginative visual style and creative use of music, sound, and silence. - 80
The New York Times
Without Ms. Kidman's brilliantly nuanced performance, Birth might feel arch, chilly and a little sadistic, but she gives herself so completely to the role that the film becomes both spellbinding and heartbreaking, a delicate chamber piece with the large, troubled heart of an opera. - 60
Village Voice
If Birth succeeds more as a source of visual and aural enthrallment than as supernatural narrative, it's largely because the final third hovers uncomfortably between the mystical and the earthbound. - 50
Chicago Tribune
For awhile, the stately symphonic score, urbane setting and understated dress make Birth feel powerful--until it feels empty, lacking what Glazer so furiously exhibited in his equally stylized freshman endeavor: heart. - 42
Entertainment Weekly
When Kidman slithers into a bathtub with her young ''husband,'' the scene, in its soft-pedaled way, is the definition of exploitation: It appears to have been cooked up for no other purpose than to conjure creepy child-porn overtones. - 40
The A.V. Club
The ick-factor deepens as the story progresses, but the mystery never does. - 30
The Hollywood Reporter
A paranormal mystery without a spine. It has no suspense because it has no belief in itself. - 30
Dallas Observer
You're almost tempted to laugh at Birth by the end, but by then you're too busy cursing it to bother.
