Birth review

Jonathan Glazer, the director and co-writer of Birth, deserves credit. Following his highly acclaimed directorial debut Sexy Beast, it would have been easy for him to repeat himself or take on one of the popcorn Hollywood scripts that must have been dangled in front of him. That he chose instead to tackle the challenging subject of reincarnation in a provocative and thoughtful way is to be lauded. The fact that the resulting Birth is not an unreserved success should not detract from its achievements.

The film raises some fascinating questions and although many are never answered satisfactorily, that it even prompts one to think elevates it above most fare. Much was made of Birth's long gestation period. Glazer's editing marathon was inferred as a problem making the film tenable. The reasons given for his meticulous approach are that he was determined to strike the right tone. Glazer and co-writers Jean-Claude Carrière and Milo Addica went for a serious take on a topic that all too easily could have been tritely dealt with.

This earnest attitude is reflected in the film's deliberate and stylized manner. It possesses a gravitas suggestive of a profound payoff. Given the spiritual notion of reincarnation, it's obviously not anything Birth can provide with a traditional pat resolution. It could explain why its ending solicited such a hostile audience reaction. Having sat patiently throughout, they obviously felt entitled to something more enlightening. Although there was no epiphanic moment, what went before had been thoroughly absorbing.

Ten years after Anna's (Nicole Kidman) husband Sean died while out jogging, she is set to marry Joseph (Danny Huston). The plans are thrown into disarray with the appearance of a ten year-old boy claiming to be the embodiment of her dead husband. The young Sean's (Cameron Bright) assertion is met with obvious skepticism by everyone, including Joseph's mother Eleanor (Lauren Bacall) and sister Laura (Alison Elliott). Only when the boy reveals intimate details of Sean and Anna's marriage, do the seeds of doubt begin to take root with Anna. In one powerful scene brilliantly played by Kidman, the camera holds for an eternity on Anna's face as she ponders the unthinkable.

Alongside Kidman's delicately balanced portrayal, Huston is perfect as the wounded Joseph who is forced to watch his role challenged by a mere schoolboy. Cameron Bright plays the young Sean with the mature assuredness required to make Anna's doubt plausible. The controversial scene in which Anna shares her bath with the boy is unsettling more for its dubious inclusion than for its explicit nature. There is also a spurious plot line involving the dead husband's fidelity that only serves to detract from the film's central premise.

For those who want to pick holes Birth presents an easy target, but for those more open to its spirit, it is more satisfying. Beautifully photographed by Harris Savides in muted shades and telling close-ups, Birth is wistful and haunting with a repressed passion. Whether reincarnation exists will no doubt be debated more effectively, but one thing is certain, Glazer is no one hit wonder.