X
- 2018
- R
- A24
- 1 h 45 m
- 2018
- R
- A24
- 1 h 45 m
Summary Fiona Maye (Emma Thompson) is intensely dedicated to her profession, never finding time to have her own children while fully assuming the immense responsibility of making life-and-death decisions about the children of others. As Fiona is about to embark on one of the most challenging cases of her career, Jack (Stanley Tucci) her neglecte...
Directed By: Richard Eyre
Written By: Ian McEwan
- 2018
- R
- A24
- 1 h 45 m
- 2018
- R
- A24
- 1 h 45 m
The Children Act
62
7.1
Where to Watch
Summary Fiona Maye (Emma Thompson) is intensely dedicated to her profession, never finding time to have her own children while fully assuming the immense responsibility of making life-and-death decisions about the children of others. As Fiona is about to embark on one of the most challenging cases of her career, Jack (Stanley Tucci) her neglecte...
Directed By: Richard Eyre
Written By: Ian McEwan
Where to Watch
Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 28 Critic Reviews
62
57% Positive
16 Reviews
16 Reviews
39% Mixed
11 Reviews
11 Reviews
4% Negative
1 Review
1 Review
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 28 Critic Reviews
62
57% Positive
16 Reviews
16 Reviews
39% Mixed
11 Reviews
11 Reviews
4% Negative
1 Review
1 Review
The Children Act is a masterpiece from beginning to end and it should not be missed.
Based on a novel by Ian McEwan, The Children Act wanders into the tricky space created when what is moral and what is legal diverge, and law is made to suffice.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 20 User Ratings
7.1
65% Positive
13 Ratings
13 Ratings
30% Mixed
6 Ratings
6 Ratings
5% Negative
1 Rating
1 Rating
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 20 User Ratings
7.1
65% Positive
13 Ratings
13 Ratings
30% Mixed
6 Ratings
6 Ratings
5% Negative
1 Rating
1 Rating
It is not surprising to see a mesmerizing, completely involved performance by Emma Thompson as a British judge who is an expert in family in “The Children Act” law nor is there any question that in any movie Stanley Tucci would do a solid job, here as the judge’s husband of 20 years but does the name Fionn Whitehead ring a bell? Until I just looked up his credits and even after that I didn’t recognize him or the name as the young man who played the protagonist in last year’s “Dunkirk”.
Whitehead, a 21-year-old, plays a 17 year 9-month-old Jehovah Witness with leukemia whose parents will not allow him to get a transfusion that could save his life. Being under the age of 18 he is not considered an adult and therefore has no say in the decision. This is an actor and a face I won’t forget again and the superb performance he gives with and opposite Thompson!
Aside from being about the judge who acts as the protector, agent and guardian who follows the British Children Act of 1989 we also see the price of a person who has to decide life or death constantly in her private life.
The thrust of the story is really the repercussions after the major decision is made. We also see the workings behind the courts and how a clerk, played by Jason Watkins, has many duties to perform so that all runs smoothly being important to the judge, the court and the law. As the parents of Whitehead, Ben Chaplin and Eileen Walsh don’t get as much time as they should but impress with a decision, no matter whom their God is, parents have to make.
The film, written by Ian McEwan, based on his novel, is an adult drama, a courtroom story, about moral responsibility, love, intimacy and, at points, heart rendering. The direction of Richard Eyre is felt in a number of key scenes though both the writer and director, in small ways, don’t ring true.
“The Children Act” is a must-see film not only due to the performances of Emma Thompson and Fionn Whitehead but also being a picture not heard about that should be making a lot of noise.
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In a sense this films themes are about realising what you've lost, whats been ignored, in the important things in life - love and companionship. Its quite a thought provoking film. I have read the short story its based on and so I knew roughly what to expect and I'd assumed it would be quite a depressing watch but in a way it was actually, perhaps equally uplifting (thanks to the great performance by the teenage boy) and that came as a pleasant surprise. Emma Thompson also gives a decent performance - I very much believed her character was emotionally affected by the case this film centres on.
It is somewhat sentimental and perhaps mildly cheesy but I wouldn't say its unrealistic or mired down in artificiality. I would recommend this film, yes.
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Even the cast’s uniform excellence can’t quite crack Children’s outer carapace, or bring full life to Fiona’s emotional struggle as she’s forced to confront her own failings. Instead the story drifts iceberg-like toward its carefully muted conclusion, only a small part of its true scope visible above a beautiful, chilly surface.
Credit the towering talents of Emma Thompson and Stanley Tucci with redeeming The Children Act, a film oddly thin on story despite coming from the marvelous Ian McEwan, who adapted his own novel for the screen but somehow failed to capture the surge of the source material.
In the hands of "Iris" and "Notes on a Scandal" director Richard Eyre, McEwan’s story is stagy and austere, taking place in gleaming flats and spotless courtrooms, like a Nancy Meyers movie with more court wigs. It’s a wan, sapped atmosphere, making the life, faith, and literal blood of a 17-year-old boy all the more stark a line to run through it.
The Children Act isn’t all that interesting a movie, despite the many talented people involved and the generally high level of work they do. The most interesting thing about it is how it presents a case study in the very different way style can determine what works on the screen vs. what works on the page.
The Children Act stages the clumsiness of belated domestic confrontations with the very coldness that’s kept its characters from having discussed their emotions for decades and from having had sex for almost a year.
A rather simple yet well-made film. As expected, Emma Thompson gives an outstanding performance. The film raises some intriguing questions about faith, morality, etc. but also feels somewhat simple and pedestrian with how the story was told at times. Overall, it's certainly worth a watch due mostly in thanks to Thompson's compelling lead erformance.
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[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]
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Production Company
BBC Film,
FilmNation Entertainment,
Toledo Productions
Release Date Sep 14, 2018
Duration 1 h 45 m
Rating R
Genres
Tagline We all make choices. Hers make history.
Awards
Film by the Sea International Film Festival
• 2 Nominations
Norwegian International Film Festival
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
British Film Designers Guild Awards
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
