Birth/RebirthSlices Into a Grisly Tale of Motherhood

Heartbreak and body repulsion intersect in Laura Moss ’ Birth / Rebirth , a homage toFrankensteinandDavid Cronenberg’svisceral nightmaresthat also puts maternity — in various sensation of the word — under the microscope . It just premier at the2023 Sundance Film Festivaland will well out onShudderlater this year .

Birth / Rebirth begins with a harrowing birth scene ( “ Baby ’s gon na be fine , ” a nurse reassures an trouble woman in labor , to which the panicky mother - to - be replies , “ What about me?”—and gets no response ) and then acquaint us to the characters who will propel the story : dour pathologist Rose ( wye : The Last Man ’s Marin Ireland ) and upbeat nanny Celie ( Scrubs ’ Judy Reyes ) . They work at the same infirmary but their path do n’t foil until an unimaginable tragedy — the sudden expiry of Celie ’s adorable youthful daughter , Lila ( A.J. Lister ) . Celie ’s anguish evolves into something even more distressing when she discover that Rose has made off with Lila ’s corpse , having agnize the lilliputian lady friend is a everlasting nominee for an experimental treatment she ’s originate . “ An experimental treatment … for death , ” she explain to Celie , who ’s horror-stricken but also delighted to see her dear child active again .

Delight call on out to be the reaction Celie settles with , and before long she ’s help Rose keep Lila in the solid ground of the life — drawing on her breast feeding acquirement , pilfering medical supply , and doing whatever it takes to insure a unbendable supply of the specific biological tissue necessary for Rose ’s miracle blood serum . Except , do n’t call it a “ miracle ” in front of Rose , who insists her succeeder is due to “ good science and knockout work over meter , ” not because of anything supernatural . And the elbow room Birth / Rebirth frame of reference Lila ’s resurrection finger like it could in reality happen in a room that ’s far less fanciful than , say , Dr. Frankenstein sew together together a man out of torso parts and zapping him with a lightning strike . However , the act of creating animation in such an unnatural mode has a likewise negative effect on Rose , who ’s already in mad scientist mode when we meet her , and especially Celia , whose judgment more becomes perilously clouded as time goes on .

Photo: Chananun Chotrungroj/Courtesy of Sundance Institute

Ireland and Reyes both give great performances here , bringing nuance and understanding to two very complicated women entangled together in an incredibly grim position . They are the primary reasons to see Birth / Rebirth , although special props also go to the movie ’s prosthetic make - up and special effects departments — their unco naturalistic work means this is absolutely not a movie for the squeamish .

Birth / Rebirth premiere at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival ; it will arrive on Shudder later in 2023 .

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Photo: Chananun Chotrungroj/Courtesy of Sundance Institute