Overview: Three women's lives share a common core: the have all been profoundly affected by adoption. Karen (Annette Bening) placed a baby for adoption at age 14 and has been haunted ever since by the daughter she never knew. Elizabeth (Naomi Watts) grew up as an adopted child; she's a bright and ambitious lawyer, but a flinty loner in her personal life. Lucy (Kerry Washington) and her husband are just embarking on the adoption odyssey, hoping for the opportunity to become parents.

DVD Verdict: 'Mother and Child' is an amazing film. Yes, it is fairly somber, but it so well written and the characters all have a fresh humanity to them. They are not cookie cutter archetypes-they are fully realized woman all dealing with some level of emotional pain and try their best to cope. All of the performances are exceptional. The featured actresses are some of industry's best talent and deliver heartbreaking and nuanced performances.

However, this film belongs to Annette Bening and I hope she is remembered come Oscar time. She delivers the best performance of her career in my opinion. Annette's character undergoes a radical emotional transformation and you watch every painful and conflicted moment of it. Annette changes the timbre and cadence of her voice to portray the wounded Karen. She carries her body differently and completely embodies the character. I was riveted. She broke my heart and I hope she gets an Oscar for this.

Again, it has the most amazing actors and actresses, and I really did enjoy it. It brought out all my emotions and it was a nice change of pace from all the movies that have come out as of late. I truly hope this helps some of you choose to rent this wonderful little movie sometime soon. It is a must see, please believe me.[BB] This is a Widescreen Presentation (2.35:1) enhanced for 16x9 TVs and comes with the Special Features of:

Creating the Family Tree
Universally Connected
Deleted Scenes with Introductions by Director Rodrigo Garcia