Themes: Haunted By the Past, Reincarnation, Mysterious Strangers
Director: Jonathan Glazer
Main Cast: Nicole Kidman, Cameron Bright, Danny Huston, Lauren Bacall, Alison Elliott
Release Year: 2004
Country: US
Run Time: 100 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
Directed by Jonathan Glazer, Birth takes place in New York's Upper East Side, where Anna (Nicole Kidman), a 35-year-old widow, resides. Just as Anna has shaken off what she thought were the final remnants of her old life -- she has even found love with a new man, Joseph (Danny Huston), whom she plans on marrying -- Sean (Cameron Bright), a ten-year-old boy, comes into her life insisting that he is the reincarnation of her late husband. Though she initially brushes off the boy's claims as the result of a crush on her, his grave demeanor and uncanny knowledge of her life leads Anna through a self-reevaluation that not only threatens her marital plans with Joseph (Huston), but also strains her relationship with her mother, Eleanor (Lauren Bacall). ~ Tracie Cooper, All Movie Guide
Review
Jonathan Glazer's follow-up to Sexy Beast, Birth is a gravely serious yet intensely absorbing look at a widow contemplating a relationship with a young boy, after he provides convincing proof he's her husband. The film would seem to have the makings of good controversy -- reincarnation, pedophilia -- but Birth failed to provoke, getting brushed aside as a "weird little mistake" seen by few. That's a shame, because it's a beautifully crafted film and a haunting consideration of its unusual subject. Nicole Kidman gives a daring, detailed performance, conveying deeply conflicted emotion through vacant stares that undergo minute shifts in accordance with her thoughts. She invites the audience into her shoes, asking what they'd do if confronted with the same evidence. Glazer gives Kidman room to explore through long and lingering takes, which reinforce the meditative pacing. Danny Huston is superlative as the fiancé unraveling under the weight of the boy's bizarre infiltration, and Anne Heche etches her own lasting impression as Kidman's former rival, gaunt and focused. But the performance that really drives the film, for better or worse, is that of ten-year-old Cameron Bright -- who played another child of uncommon birth, a clone, in Godsend, released just a few months earlier. Bright may have confused the two films, because he gives Sean the empty affect of a pod person; he's a catatonic stalker rather than a facsimile of Anna's former husband, whether or not that's the most effective incarnation for winning her back. Glazer's choice is redeemed through the coda, which -- while no less cleanly resolved than any other part of this uncomfortable story -- at least indicates some hope for these lost souls. ~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide
Arliss Howard - Bob; Anne Heche - Clara; Peter Stormare - Clifford; Ted Levine - Mr. Conte; Cara Seymour - Mrs. Conte; Zoe Caldwell - Mrs. Hill; Milo Addica - Jimmy; Jordan Lage - Peter; Novella Nelson - Lee; Mary Catherine Wright - Young Woman; Gregory Smith - Photographer; T. Ryder Smith - Waiter; John Juback - Man in Lobby; Laura Fallon - Runner; Tessa Auberjonois - Woman in Lobby; Edward Bogdanowicz - Cop #1; Charles Goff - Mr. Drummond; Michael Desautels - Sean; Scott Johnsen - Caterer; Joe M. Chalmers - Sinclair; Sheila Smith - Mrs. Drummond; Elizabeth Greenberg - Teacher; Michael Joseph Cortese, Jr. - Mini Bike Driver; Michael Joseph Cortese, Jr. - Patrick; John Robert Tramutola - Stevie; Margot Jewers - Real Estate Agent; Matthew Giffuni - Runner; Ian Hoffberg - Runner; Kavita R. Mangroo - Woman at Counter; Alexandra K. Salo - Woman at Party; Hollis Jones - Bridesmaid; Hollis Jones - Woman at Party #2; Libby Skala - Bridesmaid; Bruce Bennetis - Wedding Photographer; Jerry Fuentes - Cop #2
Credit
Peter Bucossi - Stunts Coordinator; London Symphony Orchestra - Musical Performer; David Rees - Color Timing; Kevin Thompson - Production Designer; Chris Bingham - Key Make-up; Jean-Claude Carrière - Screenwriter; Craig Haagensen - Camera Operator; Kerry Orent - Executive Producer; Jean-Louis Piel - Producer; Avy Kaufman - Casting; Michael Barosky - Sound Mixer; Theresa Carriker-Thayer - Assistant Art Director; Alexandre Desplat - Conductor; Alexandre Desplat - Composer (Music Score); Alexandre Desplat - Musical Arrangement; Todd Pfeiffer - First Assistant Director; Mimi Turner - Assistant Location Manager; Kevin Ritter - Costumes Supervisor; Christopher Goode - Unit Production Manager; Harris Savides - Cinematographer; Ford Wheeler - Set Decorator; Paul Hamblin - Re-Recording Mixer; David Boulton - ADR Mixer; John W. DeBlau - Gaffer; John Dunn - Costume Designer; Bruce MacCallum - Camera Operator; Robert McCann - Makeup; Mark Ordesky - Executive Producer; John Nyomarkay - Assistant Art Director; Eddy Collyns - Location Manager; Kerry Warn - Hair Styles; Paul Conway - Dialogue Editor; Rob Albertell - First Assistant Director; James Mather - Supervising Sound Editor; Katherine E. Beyda - Production Executive; Nick Morris - Producer; Jonathan Glazer - Director; Jonathan Glazer - Screenwriter; Milo Addica - Screenwriter; Dom Sidoli - Visual Effects Producer; Ron Bedrosian - ADR Mixer; Sarah Rae Garrett - Set Production Assistant; Julie Kuehndorf - Unit Publicist; Roy Farfel - Stunts; Peter Soldo - Second Assistant Director; Gerard McCann - Music Editor; Peter Burgis - Foley Walker; Andi Derrick - Foley Walker; Paul Bucossi - Stunts; Thomas Costabile - Construction Coordinator; Alyson Evans - Production Supervisor; Kellie Morrison - Assistant Location Manager; Double Negative Ltd. - Visual Effects; Lisa J. Levine - ADR Supervisor; Claus Wehlisch - Cinematographer; Robin Koenig - Set Dresser; Timothy Donohue - Second Assistant Director; Hinju Kim - Assistant Art Director; Xavier Marchand - Executive Producer; Gary Martone - Key Grip; Kenton Jakub - ADR Supervisor; Pedro Hernández - Best Boy Grip; Christopher Patak - Second Assistant Camera; Alex Soskins - First Assistant Editor; Tony Currie - ADR Editor; Kristine Bulakowski - Additional Casting; Daniel Rosenblum - Boom Operator; Jessica Daniels - Casting Assistant; Jim Kent - Assistant Properties; Caesar S. Carnevale - Second Assistant Camera; Paul Broucek - Executive Music Producer; Jon Davidson - Production Controller; Erik Holmberg - Executive in Charge of Production; Roy Bryson - Key Hairstylist; Don J. Hewitt - Stunts; Stanley Fernandez Jr. - First Assistant Camera; James Bridges - Still Photographer; Emily Glatter - Supervising Production Coordinator; David Kramer - ADR Voice Casting; Margie Durand - Makeup; Julio Carmona - ADR Recordist; Joanna Brett - Costumes Supervisor; Peter Gelfman - Properties Master; Timothy M. Grimes - Assistant Properties; Luis R. Marroquin - Dolly Grip; Rebecca Venezia - Camera Loader; Stephen Consentino - Steadicam Operator; Garett Eddie - Production Assistant; Stefan Henrix - Dialogue Editor; Edward Colyer - Foley Recordist; Tom Debenham - Visual Effects Supervisor; Jessica Lichtner - Script Supervisor; Krissopher Chevannes - ADR Recordist; Cutting Edge - Negative Cutter; Sam Sneade - Editor; Lizie Gower - Producer; Jonathan Arkin - Art Director; Kate Myers - Associate Producer; Elizabeth Greenberg - Casting Associate; Stephen A. Baker - Grip; Anthony Baldasare - Set Dresser; Cody P. Beke - Casting Assistant; Jake Birner - Production Assistant; Robert Blair - Electrician; James Boyle - Sound Effects Editor; Dawn Bridgewater - Set Production Assistant; Steve Browell - Assistant Sound Editor; Dylan Bucossi - Stunts; Michael Cambria - Second Assistant Camera; Lynn Campbell - Makeup; Francis L. Catalano - Grip; Joshua Chaplinksy - Production Secretary; Eric Cheripka - Assistant Properties; Peter Colavito - Electrician; Christopher De Blau - Electrician; Robert De Mar - Set Dresser; Jack Deutchman - Post Production Supervisor; James P. Dolan - Gaffer; Aaron David Forste - Set Production Assistant; William Gastelum - Production Assistant; Rick Gioia - First Assistant Camera; Sharon Globerson - Assistant Costumer Designer; Max Good - Production Assistant; Michael Grosky - Assistant Location Manager; Haberdasher Aske's Hatcham - Singer; Edith Hagigi - Personal Assistant; Stuart Hilliker - Re-Recording Mixer; Kristan C. Keck - Personal Assistant; William Kolpin - Set Dresser; John Krause - Grip; Jessica Lacy - Set Production Assistant; Sharif Laurent - Set Production Assistant; Francis Lindsay - Foley Editor; Clare Lord - Assistant Location Manager; Lyps Inc. - ADR Voice Casting; Adrian Marler - Storyboard Artist; Charles E. Meere III - Electrician; Meredith Mills - Production Coordinator; Talley Morse - Grip; Jack Mortellaro Jr. - Set Dresser; Megan Murning - First Assistant Editor; Ellen Novak - Casting Associate; Sean O'Brien - Grip; Michael O'Connor - Set Production Assistant; John M. Ottesen - Special Effects; Ronald Ottesen - Special Effects; Chris Ann Pappas - Assistant Costumer Designer; Charles Quinlivan - Grip; Peter Raeburn - Musical Direction/Supervision; Peter Raeburn - Music Producer; Scott Rosenstock - Leadman; Matt Sirianni - Second Second Assistant Director; Collin Smith - Assistant Location Manager; Igor Srubshchik - Video Playback; Eric Swanek - First Assistant Camera; Bryan Tonkin - Grip; Lisa Varley - Production Assistant; Peter J. Von Bartheld - Set Dresser; Samantha Welland - Post Production Coordinator; Alex Fenn - Assistant Editor; Emanuele Giraldo - Assistant Editor; Charles Furey - Carpenter; Malcolm Reid - Carpenter
"Behold, I was shapened in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me. [Psalms 51:5]"
- Bible
"We are brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out."
- Bible
"My mother groaned, my father wept, into the dangerous world I leapt; helpless, naked, piping loud, like a fiend hid in a cloud."
- William Blake
"Birth and death are so closely related that one could not destroy either without destroying the other at the same time. It is extinction that makes creation possible."
- Samuel Butler
Birth is a 2004filmdirected by Jonathan Glazer and starring Nicole Kidman, Lauren Bacall, Danny
Huston and Cameron Bright. The story is about a young widow from a prominent
Manhattan-based family named Anna (played by Kidman) who slowly becomes convinced that her husband, Sean, who died ten years
previously, has been reincarnated in the form of a 10-year-old boy also named Sean (Bright). At first Anna is skeptical, but
Sean's intimate knowledge of their past makes her think twice.
Commercially, the movie was unremarkable. Distributed by New Line Cinema, it earned
12th position on its opening weekend, garnering $1,705,577 with bookings at 550
screens. The combined worldwide total box office was $23,925,492, with $5,095,038 in the United
States and $18,830,454 abroad.[1] Despite some
praise for Kidman's portrayal (which earned her a Golden Globe Award nomination) and
Glazer's direction, as well as Harris Savides's cinematography and Alexandre Desplat's score, the film generally received middling reviews. The film was considered an
"Art-House Hit".[citation needed]
The movie generated controversy due to a scene wherein Kidman shares a bath with Bright, both apparently naked. In fact,
Bright was never naked and the two actors were never even in the same room during the filming of the bath scene apart from one
camera shot, and when this shot happened both actors wore special clothes that were not visible to the camera.[2]
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