Director: Jonathan Glazer
Writer: Jonathan Glazer, Milo Addica, Jean-Claude Carriere (Screenplay)
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Cameron Bright, Danny Huston, Lauren Bacall, Alison Elliott, Arliss Howard, Michael Desautels, Anne Heche, Peter Stormare, Ted Levine
Plot: A young boy attempts to convince a woman that he is her dead husband reborn.
There may be spoilers the rest of the review
Verdict: Thinking Thriller Without Punch
Story: Birth starts by having Sean (Desautels) jogging before having a heart attack and dying while also showing a baby being born. Move forward ten years and we see Anna (Kidman) visiting Sean’s grave with her new fiancé Joseph (Huston). To celebrate the recent engagement the couple are having a party, but for some reason one of the guests Clara (Heche) hides her present before replacing it. The party going on a young boy (Bright) is waiting in the lobby.
The young boy Sean enters into the house to talk to Anna explaining that he is Sean her dead husband and not to marry Joseph. Trying to get the interruption to stop Joseph confronts Sean’s father Mr Conte (Levine) and between the three adults they repeatedly tell Sean to stop pestering Anna before going the separate ways. When Sean collapses after this Anna starts to give the thought a second think.
The Conte’s try to figure out what could be wrong with their son but Sean continues to try and contact Anna and to meet up in the park. Anna decides to meet him and when Sean knows where to go he asks to meet the old Sean’s brother in law to answer questions. The questions asked bring a startling realization that Sean does know too much for it to only be research, Anna wants to get to the bottom of this once and for all while both families don’t know what to make of the situation.
Anna comes up with an idea to figure out about this Sean but with the more time spent together the closer they get leading to Joseph showing his true colours and Sean’s original best man Clifford (Stormare) coming in to try and help find out the truth. We are left to wonder just who wants to believe the truth along with what is the truth.
Birth is a romantic thriller that really pushes boundaries, first it deals with actually having to let go of a true love before eventually dealing with the idea that you could never get over it. It does have a spoon feed finish which does leave it coming off short but it does keep you wondering throughout. It doesn’t feel as open as it could because the ending pretty much tells us the truth, but it also never really address the problems the boy could actually be having with a potential delusion. The idea of everlasting love is good and really does make you want to see it but this feels very much taboo because of the ages which gives the film an awkward feel throughout too. (5/10)
Actor Review
Nicole Kidman: Anna widowed lady who is about to take the her first step into marriage again, until the young boy turns up and changes her look on life after claiming to be her husband. Anna has to decide what she thinks is real or not. Nicole gives a good performance showing just how hard it could be to let someone go. (7/10)
Cameron Bright: Young Sean a little boy who claims to be the dead husband of Anna and he seems to know too much to be making it up but is he really the man reborn or just making up a farfetched story. Cameron showed why he was getting plenty of roles as a child actor here. (7/10)
Danny Huston: Joseph husband to be of Anna who has be very patient with Anna but this little boy could show his true colours that will push him to the limits. Danny showed he is a good supporting actor here. (7/10)
Support Cast: Birth has a supporting cast that includes the family and friends of Anna who are all trying to help figure out what is going on with some believing and others not. They help move the story along because they offer advice and clues to the truth.
Director Review: Jonathan Glazer – Jonathan goes a solid job directing keeping us guessing to the final outcome. (7/10)
Drama: Birth touches onto sensitive subject with the ideas of reincarnation being real but the idea of the ages makes you have to pause about the reality of things. (7/10)
Mystery: Birth offers up a mystery that you spend most of the film trying to solve. (9/10)
Romance: Birth gives us the idea of everlasting love and how the two could have that. (7/10)
Thriller: Birth keeps you guessing to what is real as the story unfolds. (7/10)
Settings: Birth uses New York as its main setting which always makes for a beautiful setting for film. (7/10)
Suggestion: Birth is a film to try, it isn’t the greatest thriller but it does keep you guessing along. (Try It)
Best Part: The Mystery.
Worst Part: The end.
Believability: No (0/10)
Chances of Tears: No (0/10)
Chances of Sequel: No
Post Credits Scene: No
Awards: Nicole Kidman was nominated for Golden Globe.
Oscar Chances: No
Box Office: $24 Million
Budget: $20 Million
Runtime: 1 Hour 40 Minutes
Tagline: A haunting thriller that will keep you guessing until the very end.
Overall: Birth is a film that tries to be a romantic thriller but ends up being a drama about who wants to believe in reincarnation or not.
Rating 
