Part of A Celebration of Nicole Kidman
It took Anna (Nicole Kidman) 10 years to recover from the death of her husband, but now she’s on the verge of marrying her boyfriend Joseph (Danny Huston) and finally moving on. However, on the night of her engagement party, a young boy named Sean (Cameron Bright) 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. Directed by Jonathan Glazer (THE ZONE OF INTEREST), BIRTH remains as mysterious as ever.
“It is Ms. Kidman's face that holds you in a spell of uncertainty. She has an uncanny ability to register large feelings with tiny gestures…. 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.” —A.O. Scott, New York Times (Oct 29, 2004) “Lingering performances by Nicole Kidman and 11-year-old Canadian actor Cameron Bright, as well as assured direction by Glazer…complement an unusually thoughtful script that uses a minimum of dialogue to maximum effect.” —Peter Howell, Toronto Star “Kidman’s emotionally contained performance makes her seem more unguarded and less poised than her usual roles. With much of her dialogue delivered barely above a whisper, the actress quietly communicates the sense of a woman who has never fully healed and whose need to re-experience the idealized love of her past prompts her to push aside rational thought.” —David Rooney, Variety (Sep 7, 2004)
