Film Review: Reviewed By Dave Aldridge; 3 out of 5

This dyed-in-the-wool weepie from director Rodrigo Garcia (Nine Lives) follows the interconnected worlds of three women with baby trouble. Annette Bening plays Karen, a 50-year-old healthcare professional still haunted by her decision as a teenage mum to give up her newborn daughter for adoption. Naomi Watts plays Elizabeth, that daughter, now a high-flying lawyer. And Kerry Washington plays Lucy, a childless young wife looking to adopt. Their stories converge when the death of Karen's mum prompts her to plumb her past. There are tears aplenty before the three plot strands are brought - rather too neatly - together. And at over two hours, it's rather drawn out. Bening, Watts and Washington are excellent and there's sterling support from a nicely restrained Samuel L Jackson, as Elizabeth's boss, but this is strictly for patient and sensitive souls.

Plot Summary

The stories of three women whose lives have been affected by adoption. Loner Elizabeth was adopted and has never known her birth mother, Karen has been haunted all her life by the memory of the baby she gave up when she was 14, and Lucy is about to begin the process of adopting a child. Drama, starring Naomi Watts, Annette Bening, Kerry Washington and Samuel L Jackson.