Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
MISLEADINGLY MARKETED...watch out!!, September 20, 2007
FIRST BORN is NOT a tale of the supernatural. If you want to hear more, I must warn you that much of the rest of this review could be considered a spoiler.
When you look at the box and read the description, it sounds for all the world like the film will be an old-school creepy horror movie. Haunted house kinda thing. It most emphatically is NOT.
This movie is an exploration of Post-Partum depression and Post-partum psychosis. It is told pretty much from the mother's (victim's) point of view and this makes it seem like a thriller or horror movie...because her perceptions are so whacked out. (It makes me a little sad to see some of the other reviews here talking about how frustrating a character Elizabeth Shue plays...the woman is suffering from a mental illness folks!)
From that regard, I suppose it is an unusual, and perhaps to a limited degree illuminating, movie. It is also VERY slowly paced, poorly cast and mostly unsatisfying. It is an hour-long episode of a cable TV show spread out over 90 minutes.
Years ago, Elizabeth Shue was nominated for an Oscar for LEAVING LAS VEGAS. Her work in that movie and just a few others WAS pretty good. But for the most part, she really isn't a good actress. Also, the script lets her down, because we never get to see her as a normal, nice person. She is moody and kinda unlikeable right from the start...so we aren't terribly invested in her story.
The other performers in the film are mostly dreadful. The British actor playing her husband is bland and the "faux Eastern European" actress playing the nanny is over the top...almost from a movie from the '30s or '40s.
The movie shows its low budget roots by having many scenes with supporting characters who don't speak. It's cheaper to pay an extra with no lines than a bit player with one line...so when Shue's character is giving birth...no one in the delivery room utters a line. I suppose some would argue that this contributes to understanding her feelings of isolation...but I found it unreasonably distracting.
It was a mildly interesting film...but not what we were expecting. If you want a straight exploration of one woman's unsettling descent into madness...you might like it okay. For me, I just sort of endured it so I could see what happened at the end. Not exactly a ringing endorsement.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Made me want to cry, May 19, 2007
The story is about a married couple that finds out the wife is pregnant. They move to a beautiful, spacious house away from the city. Things are going well, they are prepared for the baby to arrive. I thought it would be a great movie, however, it just seemed to drag. There were subtle hints of something, but I was unable to determine what. For example, the lady leaving the doll in the subway and the main character picking it up...I asked WHY? The dog, the mice, the weird nanny. It would have been a great movie but I just could not connect the dots. I was riveted to the screen, trying to figure out the why's, what's, who's. I never really felt like we got answers, even to the end.
I thought the ending was terrible. The story sort of led you to believe all this was a result of black magic, but I think maybe it was all about post-partum depression???
It will definitely have you guessing - even after the credits have rolled. Thumbs down.
EDIT: I have been thinking more about this movie and I may have more answers regarding questions and concerns I raised above. Warning: the following comment WILL contain spoilers. If you don't want to see it, I suggest you scroll away from this review.
**SPOILER**
The main character is a dancer who finds out she is pregnant. They move away from the city, away from her former life and work. On a deeper level maybe away from the instant approval of an audience clapping, saying good job?
She rides the subway and sees a woman with a baby. She looks away, looks back, and the woman is gone. But the lady leaves the baby. Oh no! How could a mom do that? Do moms do that? She gets up to retreive the child. Only the child is not real, it's a doll. Whew.
She 'rescues' the doll, but I now wonder if she did so to practice? Like to say 'I'd never leave my baby' and will prove it by taking care of it.
I think the start of her breakdown was when their dog died. She had purchased rat poison to kill mice that is around the house. The dog was making too much noise while she was on the telephone so she put it in the basement. Dog got in the room with the poison and, well you know the rest.
While visiting the makeshift grave located in their yard, she spots the doll. The dog, liking to snatch anything, had taken it away and placed it in a spot away from the house. Seeing the doll, she goes and rescues it. While climbing out of the rocky area, her water breaks and she rushes to the hospital. Apparently there were complications and the result was her needing to have a CSection. I don't think this sat well with her because earlier she had expressed an interest in having a natural birth - no drugs. The surgery nixed that plan. One scene had her on the hospital table, attempting to look at what they were doing. Someone - possibly her other 'self' pulled her head back. I think this was a way to totally disconnect from the baby.
So with the dog dying (to which she felt responsible) to the CSection, I think she pretty much snapped. She doubted her ability as a mother, noone would listen to her about her fears and concerns and she pretty much split into two. Real became imaginary and imaginary became real to her.
She also seemed to have a compulsive personality. She purchased multiple pregnacy tests on one occasion, rat poison and hair dye. She was also rather forgetful.
But darn it that doll just kept coming back, appearing in the yard, on the dresser. Was it taunting her? Mocking her? An instrument of witchcraft? Well she was going to do something about that, once and for all!
The ending was a shocker and really shines a light on mental illness and post partum depression.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Not for anyone pregnant!, November 20, 2007
This is really a case study on post-partum depression, not a scary thriller. If it was not so BLATANTLY misadvertised, it probably would have been a better movie. I don't recommend the movie, but I recommend it even less if you are pregnant or a new mom!
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