Synopsis
Claire is a midwife and has devoted her life to others. At a moment when she is preoccupied by the imminent closure of the maternity clinic where she works, her life is further turned upside down when Béatrice, her father's former mistress, turns up on the scene. Béatrice is a capricious and selfish woman, Claire's exact opposite.
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Cast
- Catherine FrotClaire
- Catherine DeneuveBéatrice
- Olivier GourmetPaul
- Quentin DolmaireSimon
- Mylène DemongeotRolande
- Marie PaquimAngeline
- Karidja TouréMadame Naja - une patiente
- Pauline ÉtienneCécile Amado - une patiente
- Audrey DanaLa chef de service hôpital moderne
- Pauline ParigotLucie
Recommendations
- 80
Time Out London
Not much happens in The Midwife, but its depth and texture make this a moving film about families, time passing and shared history – and the handful of scenes in the maternity unit where Claire works, five or six little miracles of birth, somehow add to its sense of a life as mysterious and precious. - 75
IndieWire
Offering plum roles to Catherines Frot and Catherine Deneuve, The Midwife is a minor-key crowd pleaser about friendship, forgiveness and rolling with the punches. - 70
The Hollywood Reporter
It’s definitely treacly in places and not exactly reinventing the wheel, but the two fine performances at its heart are more than worth it. - 70
Wall Street Journal
If the plot turns out to be a convenience, the pleasure lies in what the co-stars bring to it. - 70
Los Angeles Times
Provost’s movie jolts to life whenever its two great Catherines are sharing the screen, whether driving each other crazy or collapsing in tears. - 67
The Film Stage
Béatrice is perhaps the polar opposite of what we think about when we think Deneuve, and yet, as with all the other eccentrics she’s played, the actress grounds her through an otherworldly grace and humanity. - 60
The New York Times
Because it is a French film, or rather the kind of French film that wants to serve its sentimentality with a dollop of prestige, The Midwife doesn’t offer an entirely shameless version of the “dying free spirit imbues uptight caretaker with a new lust for life” scenario. - 50
ReelViews
The Midwife has two things going for it: Catherine Frot and Catherine Deneuve. There’s no disputing the quality of acting in this film, at least insofar as the leads are concerned. Unfortunately, almost everything else in Martin Provost’s staid character study falls considerably short of the bar set by the two Catherines.
