Cast: Daryl Hannah, Marcia Gay Harden, Mary Steenburgen, Rita Moreno, Lili Taylor, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Susan Lynch, Pedro Armendariz Jr., Vanessa Martinez
Director: John Sayles
Producers: Hunt Lowry, Alejandro Springall, Lemore Syvan
Screenplay: John Sayles
Cinematography: Maurizio Rubinstein
Music: Mason Daring
U.S. Distributor: IFC Films
In English and Spanish with subtitles
Consistency has been a hallmark in the career of writer/director/editor John Sayles, the so-called "Father of American Independent Cinema." Since he started in this business in 1980, he has never been beholden to a distributor. His style is relaxed, but his subject matter is frequently timely and intense, and it's virtually impossible to guess what he's going to do next. Sayles doesn't like repeating himself, and he frequently chooses subjects that will challenge both himself (as a filmmaker) and his audiences. The results have been such memorable pictures as Matewan, Men with Guns, Lone Star, and Limbo. His latest, Casa de los Babys may have the unwelcome distinction of being the worst movie to date to arrive in theaters with Sayles' name next to the director credit.
To a certain extent, Casa de los Babys follows the Sayles blueprint, albeit with some important deviations. The storyline is not tightly focused and has a political slant, there are a large number of characters, and the pacing is languid. However, this is an oddly short motion picture (95 minutes), and the brevity of the running time allows for minimal character and plot development. Indeed, we are only getting to know these people when it's time for the end credits to roll. The characters all start out as stereotypes, and 1 1/2 hours is just about enough time to let them begin to take on aspects of individuality. It's as if we're seeing only the first half of a typical Sayles movie. In the end, I was left wondering where the rest of it was.
The story concerns a group of young, infertile American mothers who travel down to Mexico to adopt babies. They stay at a place referred to by the locals as the "Casa de los Babys," and are forced to remain there - in some cases for months - until the red tape is cleared. The six would-be mothers we meet are a diverse lot. There's the ex-alcoholic fundamentalist Christian (Mary Steenburgen), the financially strapped woman who's running out of time and money (Susan Lynch), the lesbian (Lili Taylor), the insecure rich wife (Maggie Gyllenhaal), the troubled physiotherapist (Daryl Hannah), and the pushy, pugnacious Northerner (Marcia Gay Harden). Things might have been all right if Sayles had confined himself to these women and their difficulties, but he has a much larger canvas in mind. So, in addition to these six stories, he piles on no less than a half-dozen sub-plots. There are three homeless boys who roam the streets begging and stealing. A young woman cares for her younger sisters by holding down a housekeeping job at the hotel. A pregnant 15-year old is being forced to give up her baby for adoption. An unemployed man buys a lottery ticket while searching for work. A revolutionary does odd-jobs at the hotel, but, when it comes to his politics, he proves to be all talk and no action. And a lawyer works the political process to get the most money possible out of his American clients.
One can't fault the actors for having trouble conveying their characters. They do fine jobs despite the limited screen time. If there's a surprise in the cast, it's Daryl Hannah. Not normally known as a dramatic heavyweight, she brings enough heft to the part to convey a sense of genuine tragedy. Also noteworthy is Susan Lynch, although this is primarily for a scene in which she pours out her heart in a lengthy monologue to a housekeeper (Vanessa Martinez) who doesn't understand English. The others, particularly Maggie Gyllenhaal and Lili Taylor, are criminally underutilized. (Recalling Gyllenhaal's work in last year's Secretary makes it doubly annoying that Sayles uses her so little.)
Casa de los Babys contains its share of compelling ideas, and the central theme could make for a thought-provoking motion picture. Unfortunately, by truncating every aspect of the story, Sayles conveys only a hint of what this movie might have been. Admittedly, mediocre Sayles is still watchable, but, relative to expectations, Casa de los Babys is a disappointment of significant proportions.
© 2003 James Berardinelli