Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
What's best for Isaiah?, September 20, 2005
Perhaps the biggest complaint I have with custody battles is that they are ultimately based around the selfishness of the adults involved, whether it be a battle between the child's mother and father, or between the biological parent(s) and the foster parent(s). "Losing Isaiah" is an example of a movie that uses this sad truth to tell a compelling story.
Normally, I'd be quick to write off someone like Halle Berry's character (a former crack addict who abandoned her baby in an alley) as someone unfit to raise this child. I'd also be uneasy about tearing Isaiah away from the only home he's ever known. Thankfully, this film does not end there.
After the courtroom decision is rendered, we see a much different Isaiah than the playful, cheerful child we first encountered. Did anyone bother to stop and ask him what he wanted? In an ideal world, someone would have. Unfortunately, we don't live in an ideal world, but at least we have people who (albeit a little slowly) realize this mistake in "Losing Isaiah." Were I to be given the assignment of filming a movie based around a custody battle, this is the kind of movie I would make.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
AND A CHILD SHALL LEAD THEM, September 11, 2000
Isaiah is known as one of the greatest prophets of Israel. Such is the case with this little African- American boy who was abandoned in the trash by his crack crazed mother. Three years later his mother, now clean, decides to reclaim her child. All of this sounds easy but little Isaiah has been adopted by a white social worker and her family and she is determined to keep him at all costs. The drama which unfolds before us is heart breaking as we attempt to decide what is in the best interest of this child. Halle Berry, Jessica Lange And Samuel Jackson give outstanding performances in enacting the rivalry and possessive claims that both women have on this young toddler. Poverty versus Affluence, the feasibility of inter-racial adoptions, marital/parental stability (and responsibility) and the do gooder mentality are themes that run their course throughout the drama. All of these elements are dealt with in the drama and pulls the viewer from one woman's claim to the other. Who is right? Does pigmentation or culture matter? Above all, what has love got to do with it? Social workers and judges in juvenile courts across the country are daily making these decisions of terminating parental rights and placing children in what they see as stable homes. Losing Isaiah is not a fantasy but a present reality. How to resolve these issues of custody is the dilemma for all involved. There are not any easy answers and unfortunately this film ends with an "easy" answer which isn't realistic. The little Isaiah in the film, like his prophet namesake calls these adults to spiritual, moral and social accountability. His impact makes Margaret (the social worker) deal with what is going on in her marriage and family. Khaila, his mother, is forced to clean up her act and become a responsible parent who shows her compassion and love for all children. Both women lost Isaiah but both have come to grips with their own sense of self-esteem and awareness in their loss.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Contaversial, August 27, 2002
Since I am adopted myself, I found this a interesting movie. Interestingly enough, the director presents both sides well, and doesn't seem too favor either. This is a relief considering many "political" films that come out today. Many of which, the director tries to brainwash you into thinking his way. (example: Republicans are evil) Instead the director allows you too form your own opinions. This is a heavy film and it will get you involved as well as raise many questions. Such as who is more of a mother? The one who gave birth or the one who raises him? And also just because you can give birth does that make you a mother?This film will leave some feeling that justice has been served, and others it will leave angry. However, this film doesn't have all the answers an it wisely ends unresolved, letting you form your own convictions. My conviction? Some people do not deserve children. But the beauty of this film is that it may leave you feeling otherwise, because it's not manipulative.
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