Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Sissy Spacek is way too righteous, and Mary Louise Parker too much a snot. What saves this movie is Joan Plowright, and Jack Noseworthy playing normal people, and they do it well. Susan Lansing is a single mother who was thrown out of her family when she became pregnant at 16. Years later she supervises a neonatal unit, and becomes outraged at the benign neglect given to aids babys. She nurtures, fosters, and want's to adopt Annie. Annie's mom, meanwhile has gotten sober and is looking for some redemption. Much follows as the two fight over the child, but the best reason to watch this move is the scene the morning after Linda almost burns down Susans house. Jack Noseworthy and Joan Plowright drive the scene, and it's the best in this movie.

Yes ladies, Gentleman and gracious people inbetween... this is another film to throw the whole HIV thing in our faces. It's inevitable really... they'll keep on playing the story out until they find a cure... and then when they do find a cure, there'll be a flood of sequels! Sissy plays mom... and Sissy plays mom well... but that's about it really. It's made for TV gumf... so if you like this kind of thing, then you'll like it. You sad git.I had a better time watching the dust settle on the top of my TV. AVOID.2 flaps out of 10 (and that's just because I'm in a good mood)

First of all I was quite intrigued to see that at least 2 of the 3 comments submitted so far (the other a nom-de-plume) were from men. Good to see that such a wonderful film as this is being seen by an audience that might not have been the target one, as this would be considered a woman's picture in old Hollywood.Unashamedly a tearjerker, anybody that is a loving parent or has any affinity with children will be well advised to have the tissues handy. Men not quite as in touch with their emotions in public might actually wish to watch this alone. From about 10 minutes in when I saw all the unwanted babies in the hospital I could not control my tears flowing relentlessly, whether they were tears of sadness or of joy (yes there are some wonderful joyful moments but I won't say when and spoil it)Undoubtedly a great showcase for actors, the four leads are about as perfect as one could want. Like another reviewer, I was amazed at the performances of Parker and Noseworthy, mainly because Spacek and to an only slightly lesser degree Plowright, are renowned for their work and have the accolades and awards to show for it. But the formerly lightweight teen actress and the unknown youngster more than hold their own against the formidable twosome.The writing and performances masterfully achieve it's desired aim, to entertain (if that's the word) and inform without unneccessary grandstanding. Yes the son does seem a little too good to be true, but there are such species still left in this world, and anyway his character is not perfect and still has his teeneage insecurities and traumas.All in all, not to be missed and reaffirmation of the human spirit

After "Our Sons" with Julie Andrews and Ann-Margret, this is my favorite AIDS movie. There's no need to lavish praise on an actress like Sissy Spacek; her gift is evident as soon as she enters a scene. Spacek uses her customary savvy and elan as Susan Lansing, a nurse who falls in love with and takes in an AIDS-afflicted infant whose mother has abandoned her. The nurse sets up her home with a nanny and her own son as standby only to have the mother return and reclaim her child. Her name is Linda, a bitter, spent drug addict, and she manages to make everyone in the Lansing household ill at ease, threatening to take her baby away. She is, of course, not in any position to care for her child, and Susan, realizing this, begs her to stay. An uneasy truce develops between all concerned for the baby Annie, and it is here that the movie moves us through Linda's disappointments and despair, and the only vestige of hope she has been handed--that Annie will not be touched by disease and have a mother like Susan to raise her. Lightweight is the way I would describe Mary-Louise Parker's past work; I cannot remember any performance prior to this that was this vivid. She plays Linda like a wounded dog whose howl catches in her throat when she wants to cry. She's defensive and hostile, but her most touching moments are painfully stifled. Parker's presence runs dark and deep; she makes sure the undertow of Linda's grief lurks beneath every frame.With Joan Plowright as the nanny, and Jack Noseworthy as Susan's son, David. Would that more parents had children like him?