Losing Isaiah (1995)
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45% of critics liked it
(29 reviews) -
75% of users liked it
(9,767 ratings)
Two women of dramatically different social, economic, and ethnic circumstances find themselves locked into a bitter child custody dispute in this emotionally powerful drama. Khailia Richards (Halle Berry) is a poor and drug-addicted single mother who, while stumbling out of a crack house one night,… More Two women of dramatically different social, economic, and ethnic circumstances find themselves locked into a bitter child custody dispute in this emotionally powerful drama. Khailia Richards (Halle Berry) is a poor and drug-addicted single mother who, while stumbling out of a crack house one night, accidentally leaves her infant son Isaiah in a cardboard box near a trash heap. The next morning, Khailia realizes to her horror that she left her baby behind, and she runs back to the crack spot to retrieve him. However, the baby is missing, and after much search, she presumes that he must be dead. As it turns out, the baby was spotted in the nick of time by sanitation workers and rushed to a hospital, where at the insistence of social worker Margaret Lewin (Jessica Lange) the baby's life was saved. Margaret's heart goes out to the baby, who, along with illnesses brought about by neglect, suffers from emotional and educational problems often associated with children whose mothers used cocaine during pregnancy. Margaret adopts Isaiah and raises the child with the help of her husband Charles (David Strathairn). Four years later, Khailia has successfully gone through drug rehabilitation and holds down a steady and responsible job as a nanny and housekeeper. She learns by chance that Isaiah is still alive, and she quickly hires an attorney, Kadar Lewis (Samuel L. Jackson), to help her reclaim custody of her son. However, Margaret loves the child and is not about to give him up without a battle in court. LaTanya Richardson plays Caroline Jones, the attorney Kadar Lewis squares off against in court; in real life, Richardson and Jackson are married. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Directed By
- Stephen Gyllenhaal
- Written By
- Naomi Foner
- Genres
- Mystery & Suspense, Drama
R,
- In Theaters
- Mar 17, 1995 Wide
- Studio
- Paramount Home Video
Critic Reviews
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Todd McCarthy, Variety
The material is emotionally wrenching, but the actors play sociopolitical totems more than flesh-and-blood characters.
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Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader
This is an absorbing and involving picture, but the terms propounded here limit the story, which depends almost entirely on emotions rather than on thought.
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Janet Maslin, New York Times
This drama about interracial adoption is serious and affecting, thanks in large part to the presence of its two magnetic stars.
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Edward Guthmann, San Francisco Chronicle
Losing Isaiah transcends the custody issue and finds drama in the black-white polarities that neither character can escape.
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Desson Thomson, Washington Post
Not only does this lowest-common denominator conclusion backfire, it insults anyone who invested their time getting involved in the whole thing.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
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Cast
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Jessica Lange
as Margaret Lewin
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Halle Berry
as Khaila Richards
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David Strathairn
as Charles Lewin
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Cuba Gooding Jr.
as Eddie Hughes
- Daisy Eagan
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Samuel L. Jackson
as Kadar Lewis
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Jacqueline Brookes
as Judge Silbowitz
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Joie Lee
as Marie
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La Tanya Richardson
as Caroline Jones
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Regina Taylor
as Gussie
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Marc John Jefferies
as Isaiah
