By Matt Dillon
The British medical and courtroom drama The Children Act offers an interesting premise but squanders its potential. Based on the Ian McEwan novel, the film follows judge Fiona Maye, played by Emma Thompson who becomes involved in the life of Adam, a Jehovah’s Witness teenager, after his parents are put on trial for their refusal to approve his lifesaving blood transfer.
His struggle for survival becomes a part of Maye’s own hectic life, which has been thrown in disarray after her husband, Jack, played by Stanley Tucci, is caught in an affair.
The Children Act initially offers an interesting glimpse into the meaning of life, death, choice and religion in a secularized society. Unfortunately, the film quickly abandons that in favor of overwrought, generic relationship drama.
While the actual struggle over Adam’s life in the courtroom and hospital is fascinating, it’s surprisingly short-lived. The Children Act rushes through its central conflict, leaving it without a direction before it is even halfway through.
The core issue is Adam, played by Fionn Whitehead, who works far better as a plot device than an actual character. Though the character regularly announces himself to be a unique, misunderstood genius, Adam comes off as deeply unsettling. The more he interacts with Maye, the less interesting and sympathetic he becomes. By the end of the film, viewers are not left with the tragedy that consumes the characters, but rather with a sense of anticlimax. Adam is ultimately less interesting than the questions posed by his situation.
The Children Act employs its editing and soundtrack to enhance an otherwise slow film. Hardly any of the scenes, regardless of whether they are relevant to the plot or more mundane, are allowed to reach their conclusion. The dawdled scenes echo how Maye’s marriage has been cut short and how Adam draws closer and closer to death with each hour. This adds a sense of urgency to a relatively uneventful film. The haunting soundtrack coaxes your emotions when the rest of the film fails to do so.
Emma Thompson’s role as Maye is the strongest aspect of this film. She offers a complex but subdued performance of a well-meaning professional who is nonetheless exhausted with life. Maye is a refreshingly genuine character in a movie with an exaggerated cast and plot.
The Children Act could have easily been a good film if it had stuck with its initial hook. However, the complex spiritual and ethical issues the film raises are left largely unexplored. Instead, the plot gets lost in far more generic relationship issues, as it mutates from a surprisingly respectful film to something closer to a soap opera. Emma Thompson does her best in The Children Act, but unfortunately, the film still fails to capitalize on its own potential.
