Deux mères pour un enfant

I've seen this movie several times,and it always makes me angry when it comes to the scene of the grandmother and the policeman yanking the little boy out of his mothers arms.i really wished i had been there during that scene,i wanted to tell jodys meddling mother exactly what i thought of her.i didn't think the court system was fair to her,her sexual orientation is nooone else's business,what did that have to do with raising her son?the state of virginia needs to have their laws changed,next thing you know,theyll be taking kids out of their homes because the parents play monopoly or something.the virginia legal system really stinks.i hope she eventually got her son back.

I saw this comment here - quote "looking at it from the moral point of view, the Bible, which is the ultimate moral authority, teaches us that homosexuality is wrong, so wrong it is and the matter cannot be up for discussion" this is the worst comment I ever read on this site. Narrow minded zealotry from the arrogant believers in the book who cannot think their own thoughts outside the straight jacket of fundamentalism. This was a good depiction of a true horror story of bigotry (a view of a straight male). How was what happened the best outcome for the child, or natural justice? This was on TV here in the UK today. It is hard to accept society has not advanced to accept things without reference to religious considerations.

This is the best film I have ever seen. For some reason I can't find it to buy on video or DVD but I have it taped twice and watch it most weekends. The acting is all great with the possible slight exception of vanessa redgrave's accent. The story is very sad but America seems rather backward in accepting homosexuality and this portrayal is a great way of telling people that the situation needs to change. 10/10.

When I first saw this film, I was sure it had to be fictional because I found it incredible to believe in a country supposedly as advanced and civilised as the US that such a court could actually sanction separating a loving mother from her own child.

The film revolves around Jody Ann Shaffell, a decent, law-abiding woman who just happens to be a lesbian. But when her little son Zachary is born, her bigoted, vile-excuse-for-a-mother Nancy Shaffell takes her to court to sue for full custody of the child, citing that a lesbian household is not a suitable environment to raise children in. Valerie Bertinelli does a good job as Jody Ann, portraying her determination and unyielding love for her son while Vanessa Redgrave is just perfect in her role as Nancy, depicting the character's vindictiveness, prejudices and moral blindness.

This is a film not just about Jody Ann's plight as a mother who has lost her infant child for no justifiable reason but also one that questions just what goes through the minds of the judges who serve in US courts that their own personal beliefs are allowed to cloud their rulings, decisions that have an impact on people for many years to come. This is not a film for those with high blood pressure because it just leaves your blood boiling when Jody Ann and her son are continually failed by both the courts and the selfish Nancy. One can only hope that when Zachary is old enough, he realises what a hateful grandmother he has that she kept him away from his devoted mother and he goes on to sue the judge who made such a disgusting, bigoted ruling in the custody battle.

I've just finished seeing this movie for the first time on TV. All the way through I simply could not believe that time and again such decisions were made purely on the basis of the judge's homophobic bias. I kept waiting for someone to stand up and declare the obvious - that it was wrong to deprive a loving, caring mother of her child simply because some bigots don't approve of who she loves.

What amazed me most of all was that at the very start of the movie we were told that grandparents had no legal entitlement to visitation in Virginia. So it was appalling to me that even though there was no basis in law for granting custody to Jody Ann's appalling mother, simply because of a judge's personal bias custody was granted. It makes a mockery of the law and of the US legal system.

I came on here hoping to find that in the eight years since the movie was made commonsense and justice had prevailed and that Jody Ann had finally gotten to bring up her son in a loving, caring, nuturing home. But sadly it seems that bigots still rule in the good IL' US of A.

It also astonished me that no one thought to ask why the grandmother was insisting on the child calling her 'mamma'. This surely confuses the child and is a clear indication that the grandmother's motives aren't in the child's best interests but her own. Clearly, she wanted the child for herself from the start and her daughter's new lifestyle was just an excuse.

I was enraged by Jody Ann's brother and 'best friend'. Both of whom betrayed her and lied on the stand, simply because they were angry that she had chosen to love another woman. They should be ashamed of themselves.

All in all, a sad, depressing indictment of America, of its intolerance for those who don't fit the 'mom's apple pie' image and the grip the raving rightwing lobby has on this country.

I wish Jody Ann all the best. I am sure that when her son is grown and is able to understand the manipulations of his grandmother and the injustices done to his mother he will choose to be with her again.