Change Your Image
ArleneRimmer
Reviews
Switched at Birth (1999)
A baby-switch film with a twist in the tale . . .
I have seen many films on the subject of switched babies, but this one stands alone because it left me nodding in tearful and smiling acceptance of the outcome. It is worth watching just for that, let alone the character interplay of the four parents, from the complicated rich girl and the put-it-right husband to the optimistic poor girl and the grasping opportunist. Melissa Gilbert usually packs a punch, and this is no exception, although in this film I found the story was so strong that it overshadowed her performance.
The film begins when Sarah and Linda meet in hospital when they are each in labour, and shows how they inadvertently leave with each other's babies. Every mother's nightmare. It isn't until Linda's boyfriend starts causing trouble that the mistake is uncovered, and there follows the rest of the story.
Melissa's character gives most of the small laughs along the way (and there are very few of these overall) with her strict by-the-book parenting. Understandable, really, given that Sarah had been trying for many years to have a child and had read every book on the subject in the intervening years. A contrast to Linda, who fell pregnant by accident and was dogged by her son's father throughout the film.