The film stars off well showing Irene Dunne on the brink of divorce with Cary Grant, going through her record collection and being reminded of the ups and downs of their marriage with each tune. First their courtship through to marriage, -loved the train scene-then to an earthquake in Japan causing a miscarriage and infertility, to the couple deciding to adopt.
This is where the film began to lose me. They go to 'choose' a child with a list of their requirements, blond hair, bue eyes, must be a boy and so on. Despite this first red flag they are somehow the perfect parents for a baby girl and are allowed to jump the queue to get her even though Roger does not seem keen at all to begin with. I would never give a baby to this couple! Also the adoption lady keeps banging on that it's a very special baby but doesn't say why. It looked like a pretty normal baby to me. I actually though that maybe it was deaf and that's why it couldn't hear the alarm on their first night at home together and that's why it was special but no.
Moving on, the child is now six and is played in a rather sickeningly cute manner. She does a very odd forced smile at the end of her lines which is quite unnerving and down to poor direction. Suddenly she dies of a tragic illness. Thankfully we don't have to watch this but in literally days the couple are splitting up as they can't bear each other as are so grief-stricken. But in the last act they have a phone call from the adoption lady to say 'Don't worry, we now have that perfect, blond, blue eyed boy you wanted all along' and everyone is happy again. The end.
This ending is just so wrong to suggest that their beloved daughter can be replaced so easily and quickly. It would have made a lot more sense to have shown the couple grieving and growing apart over a few years and then coming together over the prospect of a new adoption in the future, after they had mourned their daughter fully.
I give the film 3 stars because it looks good and the leads are great but it was a frustrating and ultimately unfulfilling film that I would not recommend.
This is where the film began to lose me. They go to 'choose' a child with a list of their requirements, blond hair, bue eyes, must be a boy and so on. Despite this first red flag they are somehow the perfect parents for a baby girl and are allowed to jump the queue to get her even though Roger does not seem keen at all to begin with. I would never give a baby to this couple! Also the adoption lady keeps banging on that it's a very special baby but doesn't say why. It looked like a pretty normal baby to me. I actually though that maybe it was deaf and that's why it couldn't hear the alarm on their first night at home together and that's why it was special but no.
Moving on, the child is now six and is played in a rather sickeningly cute manner. She does a very odd forced smile at the end of her lines which is quite unnerving and down to poor direction. Suddenly she dies of a tragic illness. Thankfully we don't have to watch this but in literally days the couple are splitting up as they can't bear each other as are so grief-stricken. But in the last act they have a phone call from the adoption lady to say 'Don't worry, we now have that perfect, blond, blue eyed boy you wanted all along' and everyone is happy again. The end.
This ending is just so wrong to suggest that their beloved daughter can be replaced so easily and quickly. It would have made a lot more sense to have shown the couple grieving and growing apart over a few years and then coming together over the prospect of a new adoption in the future, after they had mourned their daughter fully.
I give the film 3 stars because it looks good and the leads are great but it was a frustrating and ultimately unfulfilling film that I would not recommend.