Directed by Stanley Kubrick’s ghost by using Jonathan Glazer’s body as a vessel, the eerie, creepy, totally brilliant (and disgustingly underrated — 38% at Rottentomatoes – are people insane?) 2004 movie Birth is a film that gets absolutely no love. And that’s just wrong – anything this powerful and trippy needs to be repeatedly studied, explored, and discussed. A complete 180 in terms of style and tone from his debut picture, the crime masterpiece Sexy Beast, Birth marked new territory for Glazer as a filmmaker. Visually haunting at every turn (shot by the late, legendary director of photography Harris Savides), with a memorable classical musical score that accentuates every scene, this is a hard-to-describe drama about a grieving widow (Nicole Kidman, never better except for maybe in To Die For), who is paid a visit by a 10 year old boy (Cameron Bright, also excellent in Wayne Kramer’s exuberantly nasty Running Scared) who claims to be her reincarnated husband. From the chilly opening moments of this offbeat, strangely wondrous film, you’re under Glazer’s moody directorial spell, and he never lets you out of his stylish grasp for the entire run-time.
One shot in particular – that of Kidman entering an in-progress opera in an extremely fragile emotional state, all done in one, extra-long take – is one of the greatest single shots I’ve ever seen in any movie. A bit hyperbolic maybe, but trust me, you’ll be blown away by the power of this extended moment, which ranks as the best single scene of acting Kidman’s ever given us; the shot means more because it heightens the narrative while stretching the limits of Glazer’s striking visual aesthetic. Alexandre Desplat’s soulful, haunting, and almost overwhelming score sets a funeral tone from the first moment, offering moments of psychological acuity not normally reserved for musical arrangements. Honestly, I dare not spoil ANYTHING to the uninformed viewer; the less you know about this film going in, the better of you’ll be. This is the sort of cult-favored classic that Twilight Time DVD Label or The Criterion Collection should look into licensing, a film made by a still budding auteur, and now with the popularity of Glazer’s hypnotic game-changer Under the Skin, I think it’s time that more appreciation be heaped upon Birth, as it’s truly one-of-a-kind in all the best ways that cinema can offer.
Podcasting Them Softly 