Birth (2004)
Between this and Sexy Beast, Under The Skin and The Zone of Interest it is not clear to me exactly what the common denominator for Jonathan Glazer is. His films are all very different and attempts to break new ground, and often successful in that as well. This is a slower paced introspective story about love and grief. How obsession can shape a distorted image of the receiver of ones affection. I liked how this played out with maintaining a mystery on what was going, then explain everything in the end but still not providing all the answers. Nicole Kidman plays her role well showing a woman that thinks she is in control, yet still is overwhelmed with uncertainty. Despite that, it isn’t a film that reaches any heights for me. It treads water for a good while once the premise is established, and I don’t think it uses that extra time for anything interesting, only to wrap up most of it very quickly in the end.
Rating: 3.5