Marie Lutz

The Children Act was a slow moving movie with a lot of not particularly interesting dialogue and little action. Very good acting helps salvage the plot somewhat, but the story wasn’t particularly convincing. The movie was only peripherally concerned about the right of a child to refuse a transfusion because of his religious beliefs. Mostly it was about a very conscientious judge who nonetheless had lost her ability to feel deeply, especially in her marriage. The boy brings back her feelings, but he becomes deeply disturbed and, depressingly, dies at the end by his own choice. Some people might like this movie. Many critics did. But I wouldn’t recommend it.