A brief review of the movie “Return to Zero” shown on the Lifetime network: Honestly, I am torn. I cannot say that I enjoyed the movie at all. It was difficult to watch and brought me to tears quite a few times. There were two scenes that caused me to pause the DVR just to catch my breath and regain my composure. I felt physically ill during a scene in particular. For a second, I felt like I had lost a child. It was a very valuable training exercise for me and it will be an experience that I will draw from as I continue my journey to help families that experience a loss. (Spoiler Alert) I do feel good about the fact that the movie will increase awareness about stillbirth. The movie quoted 1 in 161 pregnancies end in stillbirth. That is a sobering statistic. I have also looked into the movie website and they have materials to support the movie (discussion guides, journals, etc.). I appreciate that they are trying to provide people with thought-provoking questions and resources. However, I did have a few issues with the movie. Without getting into too much detail and after some careful consideration, I think the easiest way to explain what I didn’t like is to say that it is definitely not written from a Christian perspective. During the memorial service scene, the officiant says “we are here to celebrate a life that never was.” I had to stop and rewind to make sure I heard it right. Honestly, I just cannot believe this phrase was written into the script of a movie raising awareness about stillbirth. It just really rubbed me the wrong way. There is also a good amount of drinking, an office affair and a scene involving a cardboard box (if that really happens, it has to stop and someone needs to make sure not a single family has to go through that experience). There were a few good, thought provoking quotes: The mother (Minnie Driver) says “I’m afraid if I let the pain go, I’m going to lose the last little piece of him that I still have.” She looks at her husband and simply says “I need you.” The husband responds “‘I need you’ is all you needed to say.” It was during this moment that they made a re-commitment to their marriage. I also really enjoyed the scene after she has her baby girl. She enjoys a quiet moment with her and tells her about her big brother, Arthur. I thought this was really sweet and very touching (another teary moment). Her doctor, who is very encouraging and also suffered a loss says to the mother, “Be proud to be Arthur’s mom because he’s proud that you are.” Overall, I think the movie will do more good than harm, but I would watch carefully. I’d love to hear your thoughts on the movie. Kristen Banocy kristen@emmasfootprints
Posted on: Fri, 30 May 2014 02:49:05 +0000
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