The Children Act (2017)

I love Emma Thompson and Stanley Tucci. This story is both beautiful and tragic in equal parts. But in fairness I would watch Emma Thompson paint a room. She's my favorite actress. Often times people who make weighty life decisions as a vocation are forced to insualte themselves from the weighty matters in their own lives in order to survive. Such is the case here. Who saves whom? This film is thought-provoking and calls on us to consider, and possibly reconsider, our own values and judgements. I recommend it, with a box of tissues. I'm crying as I write this.

Fmovies: Greetings again from the darkness. There are some actors who are so talented that they elevate most any material to a watchable status. Emma Thompson is one of the few. She is an Oscar winner for Best Adapted Screenplay (SENSE AND SENSIBILITY) and for Best Actress (HOWARD'S END), and her career is comprised of interesting characters ... many made so because of her performance. The film is directed by Richard Eyre, who has two terrific films in NOTES ON A SCANDAL (2006) and IRIS (2001), and adapted from his own novel by Ian McEwan (ATONEMENT, ON CHESIL BEACH).

We are introduced to British High Court Judge Fiona Maye as she announces her opinion on a case involving conjoined twins. As an expert in family law cases, Judge Maye is respected for fairness and decisiveness. Just as the reality of her crumbling marriage to Jack (Stanley Tucci) hits, she is drawn into yet another case where emotions (and media) are running high. Adam (Fionn Whitehead, DUNKIRK) is in dire need of a blood transfusion, which his Jehovah's Witness religion and parents will not allow.

It's at this point that we believe we are in for a stressful courtroom drama facing religious intricacies. However, there is very little to the court case - only the highly unusual step of the judge visiting the sick minor in the hospital. The highly anticipated moral dilemma never unfolds, and instead we get an oddball friendship, ever-creepier stalking sequence, and emotional unmasking. It's a bit of a letdown. Are we to believe that Judge Fiona Maye is conflicted about anything? She doesn't appear to be. She made up her mind to focus on work, and only seemed to have forgotten to mention this to her husband, whose wants push him towards infidelity.

Jason Watkins has a terrific turn as Nigel, the judge's meticulous assistant who is there in good times and bad. The story could be viewed from a woman's perspective on how the dedication to career comes with a cost, but that same cost would likely be paid by a man in this situation as well. The title of the film is specific to a British law in dealing with aspects of minors, making the court case even less suspenseful than we might think. It's not a courtroom drama per se, and it doesn't dive deep enough to be a look at a dysfunctional marriage, and it's simply too bland to be the study of a workaholic carrying guilt over never having kids - shouldn't this issue have been resolved by now, given the age of this couple? It's a crazy "R" rating over one line of dialogue, and it's really Ms. Thompson's performance that provides the only reason to see the film.

Kudos to all hands involved in making "The Children Act", a chamber drama about a family court Justice in London failing to achieve balance between her job and her private life. The legal issues involved are clearcut, but star Emma Thompson's acting brings out the profound emotional and pyschological issues underneath.

Stanley Tucci is perfect in understated support as her neglected husband, and a true discovery here is Fionn Whitehead as the teenage protagonist, a Jehovah's Witness whose life hangs in the balance as his parents, Church elders and he himself refuse the blood transfusions necessary to give his treatment for leukemia a chance to save his life. Fionn Whitehead, previously in a lead role in "Dunkirk", struck me as a powerhouse at the level of a young Tom Courtenay, and would be perfectly cast as either Billy Liar or the Long Distance Runner.

The Children Act fmovies. I am and always have been an Emma Thompson fan however when an actor such as Fionn Whitehead can show a fresh new face on the screen and totally steel it from Emma Thompson that's one mean feat! The blood transfusion for Mormons has always been a sore sport for me. I believe we all have the right to our own spirituality and belief system, sincerely I believe if something empowers you to the degree it can actually heal you (emotionally and physically) than so be it. I don't believe in the right, when a perfect outcome is like a practical sure thing, that taking that life is right. Its murder period. The Performance of Fionn Whitehold certainly taught me otherwise! A truly gifted actor with a bright brilliant career ahead of him. I think this film brought something different to us. It also teaches that ultimately it is our choice that matters most. Hats off, totally enjoyed this.

The trailer really wets the appetite and if like me, you were expecting a lengthy legal battle with a dose of moral dilemma and lashings of emotion, you will be disappointed. The JW blood element is short and fleeting as the film concentrated more on the marriage problems between ET & ST, who perform fantastically as ever btw, and the wild infatuations of a confused boy. There was some misrepresentation of JW's, the Kingdom Hall didn't look like any I had ever set foot in, it painted a biased picture of people's interpretation of faith and there language and terminology felt archaic and old testamenty. There are few a divisive topics as refusing blood transfusions for minors based on religious faith and this particular showing didn't leave me or my party much to deliberate on after the credits. Overall, a missed opportunity and a waste of a fine cast.

Never before have I gone to a screening of a film just to see if it was going to be just OK, in fact I nearly didn't go. How wrong I was, I cannot remember a film that has has such an emotional impact on me. It's a very powerful intelligent and moving film with stunning performances from Emma Thompson & Fionn Whitehead and if Emma doesn't receive awards for her performance alone then there's something seriously wrong. If you like intelligent thought provoking films, go and watch this on the big screen, I promise you'll not be disappointed.