Bless the Child
| Bless the Child | |
|---|---|
|
Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Chuck Russell |
| Produced by | Mace Neufeld |
| Screenplay by |
Tom Rickman Clifford Green Ellen Green |
| Based on |
Bless the Child by Cathy Cash Spellman |
| Starring |
Kim Basinger Jimmy Smits Angela Bettis Rufus Sewell Christina Ricci Holliston Coleman |
| Music by | Christopher Young |
| Cinematography | Peter Menzies Jr. |
| Edited by | Alan Heim |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 107 minutes |
| Country |
United States Germany[1] |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $65 million |
| Box office | $40,443,010[2] |
Bless the Child is a 2000 American horror-thriller film[3] directed by Chuck Russell, starring Kim Basinger, Jimmy Smits, Angela Bettis, Rufus Sewell, Christina Ricci, and Holliston Coleman. It is based on the novel of the same name by Cathy Cash Spellman.
Plot
Maggie O'Connor's (Kim Basinger) life revolves around her job as a nurse at a busy New York hospital, until one rainy night, her sister Jenna (Angela Bettis) abandons her newborn autistic daughter, Cody, at her home. Maggie takes Cody in, and she becomes the daughter she never had.
Six years later, Jenna suddenly re-appears with a mysterious new husband, Eric (Rufus Sewell), and abducts Cody (Holliston Coleman). Despite the fact that Maggie has no legal rights to Cody, FBI agent John Travis (Jimmy Smits), an expert in ritual murder and occult-related crime, takes up her case when he realizes that Cody shares the same birth date as several other recently missing children.
Cody, it soon becomes clear, is more than simply special. She manifests extraordinary powers that the forces of evil have waited centuries to control, and her abduction sparks a clash between the soldiers of good and evil that can only be resolved, in the end, by the strength of one small child and the love she inspires in those she touches.
Cast
- Kim Basinger as Maggie O'Connor
- Angela Bettis as Jenna O'Connor
- Rufus Sewell as Eric Stark
- Christina Ricci as Cheri Post
- Holliston Coleman as Cody O'Connor
- Jimmy Smits as Agent John Travis
- Michael Gaston as Detective Frank Bugatti
- Lumi Cavazos as Sister Rosa
- Ian Holm as Reverend Grissom
Reception
Bless the Child received almost universally negative reviews from critics, with Rotten Tomatoes giving this film a 3% rating and is ranked #29 on their worst-reviewed films of the last decade.[4]
Film critic Bruce Kirkland felt that Bless the Child was mocking Scientology in the guise of the fictional cult "The New Dawn".[5]
Box office
The film opened at #7 at the North American box office making USD$9.4 million in its opening weekend. It went on to gross only $40.4 million worldwide, below its $65 million budget.[2]
Awards
The film was nominated for one Razzie Award, Worst Actress for Kim Basinger, along with I Dreamed of Africa, but lost to Madonna for The Next Best Thing.[6]
References
- ↑ "Bless the Child". British Film Institute. London. Retrieved September 30, 2012.
- 1 2 Bless the Child at Box Office Mojo
- ↑ Bless the Child at AllMovie
- ↑ Bless the Child at Rotten Tomatoes
- ↑ Kirkland, Bruce (August 11, 2000). "Spawn of Hollywood". The Toronto Sun.
- ↑ "Twenty-First Annual RAZZIE® Awards (for 2000)". Razzie Awards. December 4, 2005.
External links
- Bless the Child at the Internet Movie Database
- Bless the Child at AllMovie
- Bless the Child at Box Office Mojo
- Bless the Child at Rotten Tomatoes
- Bless the Child at Metacritic