Birth

2004 Drama

Directed by Jonathan Glazer, Birth takes place in New York's Upper East Side, where Anna (Nicole Kidman), a 35-year-old widow, resides. Just as Anna has shaken off what she thought were the final remnants of her old life -- she has even found love with a new man, Joseph (Danny Huston), whom she plans on marrying -- Sean (Cameron Bright), a ten-year-old boy, comes into her life insisting that he is the reincarnation of her late husband. Though she initially brushes off the boy's claims as the result of a crush on her, his grave demeanor and uncanny knowledge of her life leads Anna through a self-reevaluation that not only threatens her marital plans with Joseph (Huston), but also strains her relationship with her mother, Eleanor (Lauren Bacall).

Director: Jonathan Glazer

Starring: Nicole Kidman, Cameron Bright,Danny Huston, Lauren Bacall, Alison Elliott

Reviews

  • An effective thriller precisely because it is true to the way sophisticated people might behave in this situation. Its characters are not movie creatures, gullible, emotional and quickly moved to tears. They're realists, rich, a little jaded.

    Roger Ebert - The Chicago Sun-Times

    19 January 2013

  • Without Ms. Kidman's brilliantly nuanced performance, Birth might feel arch, chilly and a little sadistic, but she gives herself so completely to the role that the film becomes both spellbinding and heartbreaking, a delicate chamber piece with the large, troubled heart of an opera.

    Dana Stevens - The New York Times

    19 January 2013

  • What the intelligently spooky Birth does best is disturb us.

    Kenneth Turan - Los Angeles Times

    19 January 2013

  • The best of what's onscreen is a mesmerizing mind-teaser.

    Peter Travers - Rolling Stone

    19 January 2013

  • Birth presents an intriguing premise about death and the possibility of rebirth in an elegant, melancholy and deliberate fashion.

    Claudia Puig - USA Today

    19 January 2013

Awards

  • Best Actress

    Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films (2005)

     
  • Best Young Actor

    Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards (2005)

     
  • Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama

    Golden Globes (2005)

     
  • Actress of the Year

    London Critics Circle Film Awards (2005)

     
  • Best Music

    Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards (2004)