Un cadeau inattendu

I should mention that even though the movie had a title related to Christmas when I saw it, it's not really about Christmas. The holiday does come near the end, though. And Zooey and Alec learn a lot from Eli.

Maurice Cole is outstanding. There is no way he is seven years old. He comes across as a short adult and shows a lot of intelligence and appeal.

Toni Collette is quite appealing, and when she does smile, it's a very nice smile. But she doesn't smile a lot.

The other lead actors do quite well also. In fact, everyone does. Even the employee at Legoland Amusement Park who is only there for the paycheck and cares nothing about his job.

It's a very worthwhile effort.

One of the best movies I have ever watched. Very touching story of a family trying to cope with the unfathomable sorrow from the loss of a child. Only to be made worse by not being able to conceive another child. Incredible performance from the boy "Eli" (Maurice Cole). Also heartfelt performances from Toni Collette and Ioan Gruffodd. Cannot believe the sad, cynical people who reviewed this movie negatively using terms like "creepy" and "spooky". Really!? Too bad they all got bogged down in the trivial details of accents and technical issues while missing the whole story being told before them. That unconditional love shown to people will overcome and heal even the deepest hurt and devastation. A lesson that Christ taught us that I fear is lost on the negative reviewers of this movie who could not see past the casting and unimportant details. A tremendous opportunity lost for theses folks. I vote for more movies like this vs. most of the trash that is turned out.

Zooey (Toni Collette) is having trouble getting pregnant. Her husband Alec (Ioan Gruffudd) is having trouble with his toy business. They decide to adopted a child. He's a strange little boy. Along with a strange homeless guy (Richard E. Grant), they start to dig up their past tragedy and recover their lives together.

There isn't enough magic in this movie. That is the biggest missing ingredient. This is relying a lot on the kid. The directing style isn't helping him any. The level of production is some kind of TV movie.

Then there is the unrealism of the toy business. The big orders ending seems more like a high school play. It's a nice sweet story, but there's just nothing great in it.

In this day and age it is becoming increasingly difficult to find movies that I can show to my 99-year-old mother. If there is the least bit of profanity or gratuitous violence, she just won't watch any more! So it was wonderful to see "Foster" and I look forward to inviting Ma to come and see it.

What an amazing little actor is Maurice Cole! Unfortunately, there is almost nothing about him on IMDb - not even his birthdate and so I am still wondering if, as the plot says, he was actually just seven years old when Foster was shot. If he was, then he is amazing! His clear and accurate pronunciation of some quite long and technical words would, I should imagine, put him into the child prodigy category. The only reason we won't see a lot more of him is if his parents decide that that don't want him to fall into the many traps that seem to await child stars.

The story is lovely - just nice people doing nice things and attempting to cope with life's challenges and setbacks. The only reservation that I had about the whole movie was the selection of Toni Collette as Zooey. I would love to have seen Sandra Bullock in that role! And why did an Aussie actress have a sort of Scottish accent? Her mother didn't and the film wasn't set in Scotland (as far as I could tell), her husband had his own natural very slight Welsh accent so that was, to me, a distraction because, rather than give the story my whole attention, I found myself wondering about that.

Nevertheless, a delightful film that will please Ma and my grandchildren equally.

The story centres around a couple who apply for a foster adoption. However, the very next morning after their application, a seven year old boy comes up to their doorstep, all dressed up in a suit, tie and top hat, with all the legal documents in hand. This is an extremely interesting idea and the film does justice to this innovative premise.The scenes in the film following the strange arrival of the child are worth watching. The way the couple reacts and adjusts to this unique child is both heartwarming and humorous. Truly wonderful.

Newman's simple and well plotted narrative, his effective screenplay and the talented mix of actors (its got Toni Collette) all come together to tell this interesting tale. Come and watch the story unfold.

Mood: Comfort Movie with a good serving of wonder and warmth