The Children Act – ABC Film Challenge – Set in England – C – The Children Act – Movie Review
Director: Richard Eyre
Writer: Ian McEwan (Screenplay)
Cast
- Emma Thompson (Sense and Sensibility)
- Stanley Tucci (The Devil Wears Prada)
- Reena Lalbihari (Final Score)
- Fionn Whitehead (Dunkirk)
Plot: As her marriage crumbles, a judge must decide a case involving a teenage boy who is refusing a blood transfusion on religious principle.
Runtime: 1 Hour 45 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Story: The Children Act starts as we meet judge Fiona Maye (Thompson) who deals with some of the most sensitive cases in UK law. Elsewhere, her marriage with Jack (Tucci) is crumbling because of her career. Fiona gets most of the cases completed in a fair manner.
However, her latest case sees her needing to make a decision about a teenage boy who is refusing a blood transfusion. The case is incredibly sensitive and sees her making a drastic decision to meet the teenager. She knows that religious beliefs make things even more complicated and she gets close to the patient before making her decision.
Verdict on The Children Act
The Children Act is a drama following a judge who takes on a sensitive case involving a child refusing medical treatment under religious beliefs. However, her decision will have a lasting effect on everyone’s lives.
This is a drama that gets to show the difficult decisions a judge is left to make. It shows both sides of the argument before the decision is made. However, it would have been a lot more interesting to see more of the case discussed. Rather than focusing on the aftermath of it. While the performances are wonderful, it is the fact we don’t get into the more sensitive subject matter for a long period of time that holds things back.
Final Thoughts – The Children Act has an interesting subject matter being discussed.