Birth DVD Review:

Ten years after the death of her husband, Anna (Kidman) has finally started to become open to the possibility of getting married again. After years of asking Joseph (Huston), thinks he has helped Anna get past her grief and will finally get her down the aisle. As they announce their engagement and start planning their May wedding, a ten year-old boy turns up at the party and tells Anna that he is her dead husband Shawn (Bright) and that she should not marry Joseph.

The intriguing plot device, reincarnation is the driving force behind ‘Birth’ but why is a fascinating subject approached in such a mind numbly boring way?

From the director of the critically acclaimed ‘Sexy Beast’, you might be expecting a lot more from Jonathan Glazer’s second feature but you will be extremely disappointed. While the premise is quite interesting, the execution is simply awful. A snail would be thinking the pacing of the movie is slow, as the extremely slight story is dragged out for 100 minutes.

The revelation of Shaun’s appearance and the effect it has on Anna and the people around should have opened up a cornucopia of possible plot lines but all the film does is border on the ridiculous. While it is easy to agree that it would stare up past feelings and memories, some of Anna’s reactions are simply preposterous and bordering on paedophilia. This is never graphic or exploitive but the suggestion is there and this instils a nasty tinge to the whole film.

The film’s only saving grace is the performances of the cast. Cameron Bright is a talented child actor who deserved a better script than this. He delivers Shaun’s lines with a believable conviction that makes the character more authentic, even as the plot collapses around him. Anne Heche and Peter Stormare make good cameo appearances but their characters are very underdeveloped and underused. Danny Huston probably gives the best performance as Joseph, the only one who seriously questions Shaun’s revelation and reacts accordingly with it. The character is let down slightly in the finale, as he doesn’t really question any of Anna’s actions or mental state. Lauren Becall brings some class to the proceeding but doesn’t have enough to do, making the role a real waste of her talents.

The movie is all about the performance of Nicole Kidman and you can tell that this was put together in order for her to get award recognition. Her performance is fine and you have to applaud the fact that she does choose more challenging and interesting sounding productions but this won’t do anything to further her career.

‘Birth’ is one of the dullest and most drawn out cinematic experiences you could ever choose to endure. You know that you are in for something truly excruciating when you have to sit and watch Nicole Kidman stare out of the screen for well over four minutes, without actually doing anything. While the performances save this from been a total disaster, the film lack of a real conclusion and any explanation as to why the Shaun thinks he is Anne’s long dead husband make the film less credible and more farcical than it should have ever been.

Star Rating = *

PICTURE & SOUND

Presented in 1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen with a Dolby Digital 5.1 surround soundtrack, this is a decent transfer. The look of the movie was already slightly grainy and pastel coloured and the transfer reflects this. The sound is also fine, emphasising the dialogue but never really setting your speakers ablaze.

BONUS FEATURES

Trailers
Previews of ‘Fat Slags’, ‘Blade Trinity’, ‘Assault on Precinct 13’, ‘In Good Company’ and ‘Million Dollar Baby’

OVERALL

Even a film as appalling as ‘Birth’ deserves some DVD bonus features. While some may argue that some films don’t need extras, fans and film enthusiasts still want to know as much information about a movie as they can get and as the DVD market becomes the dominant form of Home Entertainment, the viewer now expects more than just the movie. This is not good enough.



Jamie Kelwick