Birth

BIRTH (2004) - Dec. 2, 2004 (S)
This was probably the most well-made bad movie I've ever seen. And oh boy, was it bad. The direction (by Jonathan Glazer, whose Sexy Beast was a million times better than this) was quite good, and the performances were also quite good. I liked the score, too. But the screenplay was absolutely, jaw-droppingly ludicrous. I mean, just... Jeez. About a woman who meets a young boy who claims to be the reincarnation of her dead husband. She, of course, is skeptical at first, but quickly comes to believe him. Why? Because she is insane? Because the script requires her to? I don't know. He certainly doesn't make a convincing case. She tells a friend that he is falling in love with him. Why? What about this little boy is appealing? She can't be sexually attracted to him, unless she is a pedophile (which, as the movie progresses, seems more and more to be the case). She can't have any kind of emotional connection, as the kid does nothing but glower and act mysterious throughout the entire film. Unless her husband was the most dour man alive, I'm not buying it. And then towards the end it's revealed that nope, the kid just stole some old love letters, he was faking it. But why? As a wacky prank? What? Nicole Kidman then goes crawling back to her fiancee, who, stunningly, takes her back despite the fact that she is clearly a psychopath. Oh man. I cannot possibly fathom what Jonathan Glazer was thinking when he decided to make this movie. I can only assume that he was forced at gunpoint. And I have to say, I am offended by the comparisons to Kubrick. Sure, Glazer's style in this film does resemble Kubrick's (he even directly steals a shot or two for good measure) -- but on the same note a robot could watch all of Kubrick's films, and then make a movie that effectively emulates his style. But that doesn't mean it would be good. *1/2