Apr 26

Apr 26 The Children Act (2017)

Emma Thompson, who earned an Academy Award for her lead role in Howards End, delivers another pitch-perfect performance in The Children Act. In this contemporary British drama, Ms. Thompson portrays Fiona Maye, a judge assigned to the Family Division of England and Wales’ High Court of Justice. The delicate nature of the cases Justice Maye sees becomes immediately apparent when she must decide on a lawsuit brought by the physicians at a hospital, who are suing for the right to separate fatally conjoined infants—a procedure that will result in the death of one and the probable healthy life of the other.

At the same time, Justice Maye discovers that she and her husband, Jack (Stanley Tucci), have problems of their own. With Ms. Maye throwing herself into her work, Mr. Maye feels left out of her life, and indeed, he reminds her that they have not been romantically intimate in nearly a year. In light of that, he announces to his wife that he intends to have a brief affair—not to end their marriage, but to preserve his own sense of self and to safeguard the love he and his wife share. Added to this personal challenge, another case heads to Justice Maye. A teenager, Adam Henry (Fionn Whitehead), requires a blood transfusion to give him the best chance to survive his leukemia. But the young man identifies as a Jehovah’s Witness, as do his parents, and none of them want to allow the procedure, which they believe contravenes the tenets of their religion. Adam’s doctors sue so that they can give him the best possible chance to survive.

In addition to Emma Thompson’s measured, believable performance, Stanley Tucci does well as her struggling husband, and Fionn Whitehead injects angst and pliability into Adam Henry, a teenager supposedly dedicated wholeheartedly to his religious beliefs. Ian McEwan’s script, based on his novel, perhaps lacks some of the dialogue the audience wants the characters to say, but it does reflect the actual nature of these sorts of situations. Richard Eyre directs with a steady hand. Not a great film, but solid.