g-bodyl Just from reading the plot of Losing Isaiah, I felt the film is better suited to a Lifetime movie. But after seeing the film, I may have to change my mind because on the whole, it is a very powerful and impacting film about child custody and the best interests of the child. The film would have been so much better, expect the film didn't have an ending at all. I did not like the ending and that took down my rating a notch or two. But film will strongly affect everyone, especially those who tend to be politically correct.Stephen Gyllenhaal's film is about a custody battle over an abandoned kid between two women. One woman is a former black crack addict who is now sober and leading a better life, but not after abandoning her kid in a drug haze. The other woman is a white social services worker who has a well-off family and a nice place to live. Now the crack addict named Khaila decides to sue to get her child back.This film is strongly acted. Jessica Lange gives a hell of a performance as Margaret Lewin, who shows unconditional love to the boy. Halle Berry also delivers a potent performance as Khaila, the grieving mother who also truly cares for her son. Samuel L. Jackson makes a good appearance as Khaila's lawyer and David Strathairn was decent as Margaret's wife.Overall, Losing Isaiah is a great movie but it could have been more if it wasn't for that horrid ending that left me with even more questions. But there is no denying the emotion the film provokes and the sympathy that is created for each woman. Each of them has their faults, but both of them truly care for the kid which makes this custody case even more heart-wrenching. I wasn't even able to choose a side. But this is a great film and I'm surprised I haven't heard of it until now. With a better ending, the film would have been perfect. I rate this film 8/10.

fairydust1830 I've read the comments and the opinions from the various people on this board.I started used drugs after my son was born and I lost custody.My mother got custody.I worked hard to clean myself up and to be able provide a home for my son.Even after I was clean my mother wouldn't let me see my son,even though the court had ordered it and subsequently,my son didn't know me.I fought in court for over a year.I had to prove to a lot of people.I did win in court and my son came home that day.It was not easy and raising him has been a struggle at times.But just because a mother did drugs,it does not mean that her child is better of without her.It takes commitment.I went onto Nursing School and graduated and my son just graduated high school.We can turn our lives around and do what's in the best interest of our children.My son wants nothing to do drugs(his words),because he knows what it almost took us away from each other forever.I'm proud to say he's enrolled in the Army and we have a great mother/son relationship.Don't knock us because we made mistakes.Sometimes by making those mistakes,we become far better parents.I know I did.

Mel J 'Losing Isaiah' is a film that is very relevant in today's climate where care homes are over-flowing with children because of the lack of foster parents yet still social services still allow place race as a deciding factor in the fostering process.Based on the novel by Seth J. Margolis, the film sees baby Isaiah being abandoned by his drug addict black mother Khaila Richards in a bin shortly after his birth. He is found and taken to hospital where Margaret Lewin, a white doctor caring for him, decides to adopts him as her own child. Isaiah fits well into the Lewin family despite hailing from a different racial background and he grows into a happy, cherished little boy. But four years later, Khaila is back on the scene demanding custody of her son back now that she is clean. And it seems the Lewins' have a fight on their hands to keep the child since the family court system not only favours children being returned to their parents but also the idea of people only being allowed to foster/adopt children of the same racial background as themselves.The quality of acting was excellent from all members of the cast. Jessica Lange gave a great depiction as Margaret Lewin, the mother who doted on Isaiah with as much love as if she had given birth to him herself. Although, on the surface, it was quite hard to like Khaila Richards, Halle Berry gave the role substance and managed to make her an almost sympathetic character as the film went on. However, the real praise has to be reserved for the tiny Marc John Jefferies, who played Isaiah. Anyone who has ever said small children can't act or tried to excuse mediocre child acting on the basis of the child's age needs to see this boy's first-class performance despite the fact he must barely have been out of nappies when he appeared in this film.Reading other people's reviews, it's clear some people don't realise that social services will push to place a child back with their biological family even in a situation like this. No, I don't think it's right as there are many cases where the best place to ensure a child's well-being and happiness is to be far, far away from their parents but, sadly, that doesn't often happen. And race does still play a role in where a child up for fostering/adoption is placed. So, for me, I found this film quite realistic in that respect and could completely empathise with the Lewin family's sense of helpless and disbelief as they risked losing their son to a mother who dumped him purely on the basis of they had the wrong skin colour and DNA. 'Losing Isaiah' certainly shows that a child's sense of security and love must always come first, regardless of what the biological mother wants or whether his skin tone matches his adoptive parents.The ending, unfortunately, was rather a cop-out. It delivered a typical Hollywood 'happily ever after' with political correctness probably at the forefront of the scriptwriter's mind bu, in terms of reality, with both mothers' agreed to share custody with the child remaining at his adoptive parents' home but going to a nursery school of Khaila's choice with her accompanying him, viewers were left annoyed the issues raised in the film were not properly addressed. Perhaps a better resolution would have been to see Khaila forced to give up custody (or agreeing to let him go for the sake of her son's happiness since she seemed to see more sense than the so-called judges, lawyers and social workers) then re-entering Isaiah's life when he was older.

RaeganBeaumont_99 2 women 1 child, but all the love in the world. Halle Berry was outstanding and Jessica Lang was as well. This movie was a great touching movie and showed us all that the love of a child goes deeper than anyone can imagine. A drug addict who leaves her baby in a box so she can go get high. A Dr. who gets attached to this drug addicted baby, who later adopts him. Its about a family who loves this little boy more than anything and in one swift moment the mother comes back, clean and sober and wants her baby back. Does she deserve him, whose to say, just because she made a mistake and almost killed him doesn't mean she loves him any less right??? A story about a woman who sees that she cant come in and take a child and make everything alright, a woman who feels dead and wants to die than to lose the child she has come to love as her own. Two women who come together to give this child all the love that they can. Its a touching movie, and and inspiration to see one woman turn her life around. Its a story not about race, but about LOVE and how one and even two can love someone so much. I really enjoyed it.