Variety
Tame, competent, mildly touching, and a little dull - except for Catherine Deneuve's fearless turn as a boozing, ailing wreck.
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The Midwife
Catherine Frot (The Page Turner) is a midwife who gets unexpected news from her father's old mistress (Catherine Deneuve, Dancer in the Dark) in this Martin Provost-directed drama.
"Claire (Frot) is a single mother with a grown-up son. She’s a dedicated midwife who is completely wrapped up in her job. Although the maternity ward where she works is to be closed, she turns down a job offer from a larger clinic because she cannot reconcile their methods with her own ideas about midwifery. In the midst of all this upheaval she receives a phone call that rekindles memories of her youth. Béatrice (Deneuve), her late father’s former mistress, asks to meet her. Béatrice is a true bohemian – loud, colourful, egocentric and completely different to the focussed, helpful Claire. The younger woman asks herself why, after all these years of silence, Béatrice has suddenly decided to approach her for help, and is at first less than enthusiastic." (Berlin International Film Festival)
Less2017Rating: PG, Mild themes and coarse language117 minsFranceFrench with English subtitles
DramaWorld Cinema
- Director:
- Martin Provost ('Séraphine', 'Violette', 'The Long Falling')
- Writer:
- Martin Provost
- Cast:
- Catherine FrotCatherine DeneuveOlivier GourmetQuentin DolmaireMylène DemongeotPauline EtiennePauline ParigotMarie Gili-Pierre
The Midwife | Reviews
88%90 reviewsRotten Tomatoes® Score
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The New York Times
Even when portraying the needy, nearly shambolic Béatrice in "The Midwife," Ms. Deneuve is capable of vibrating with an elegance that implies both hauteur and froideur.
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Screen Daily
A bittersweet delight written to order for two consummate performers who inhabit their diametrically opposed characters with satisfying élan.
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Los Angeles Times
"The Midwife" is an absorbing meander of a movie, prettily shot and a touch over-scored ...
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Hollywood Reporter
Provost has once again proven to be a sensitive and sure-handed director of what used to be called "women's films," with this one somewhat of a cross between Douglas Sirk and the Dardennes.
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FilmInk
...the focus is rightly on the two leads and fans of theirs won't want to miss the chance to see them one more time.
Full reviewThe Midwife | Release Details
The Midwife is available to stream in Australia now on Stan and Google Play and Apple TV and Ritz at Home.