[usr 4]
As her marriage crumbles, a judge must decide a case involving a teenage boy who is refusing a blood transfusion on religious principle.
Emma Thompson, with her ability to be all-encompassing in her characterizations, gives us no less than an extremely moving performance as High Court Judge Fiona Maye, who must decide the fate of a teen who refuses a transfusion due to religious beliefs. The underlying issue that builds the formidable plot is that his parents’ religious beliefs have become his beliefs and the judge doesn’t feel she has enough information to decide what is in the best interest of the child. Stanley Tucci, who stars as Fiona’s husband, Jack Maye, is also known for his ability to stretch the limitations of roles with his arrogant disposition and immediately makes you hate him just for showing up and being real. These two make for an awesome couple whose marital woes have caused them to grow apart, yet still, find a way to support each other on their own terms.
At the center of Fiona’s case is seventeen-year-old Adam Henry (Fionn Whitehead), who is adamant that he has come to terms with dying because he refuses to believe that his parents’ beliefs cannot be his own. When Judge Maye makes an unexpected visit to his hospital room, she becomes his best advocate. Although their beliefs are initially polarizing, she slowly and unexpectedly becomes the reason he lives and thrives long after she defies him and allows the transfusion to take place.
Chaos soon becomes the order of the day as the Judge who has tried to move forward with her life, has adjusted to the reality that her husband, through an admitted affair, will no longer play second to her career. Meanwhile, Adam, who she thought was no longer a part of her affairs, has become legal and vulnerable and makes her life a living hell trying to pay her back for giving him a new lease on life. The Judge who has never mixed business with pleasure has become the target of Adam’s stalking and does everything in her power to convince him that her responsibility to him ended with the court’s decision. While everyone else’s life has become unbearably difficult, Adam sees the Judge as his only means for survival and after she resists his every offer, he makes a decision to will his life away at which point she realizes that she has developed an attraction for him that she refuses to acknowledge and only his death will bring it to life.
This amazing novel by Ian McEwan was written in 2014 in reference to The Children Act, 1989, a UK act of parliament. Kudos to director Richard Eyre who built an amazing cast around the storyline that exposes the human side of the law and the religious side of medicine. This slow-moving story builds into an exciting match of wits and will and has something to be gained from all aspects. Both children and adults can expect to be moved by the decisions made regarding life and livelihood and how simple, yet complicated decisions impact our professional and personal lives. Don’t sleep on it!
Available on DVD November 13th
