Finding My Son a Family
Rosemary Holmstrom (Linda Hamilton - Terminator 2: Judgment Day) refused to believe it when her doctor diagnosed with her HIV but was forced to face the truth when after a second doctor confirmed it. Despite having a young son, T.J. (Noah Fleiss - An Unexpected Family), Rosemary initially decides not to go on experimental medication and face the fact she is dying, maybe sooner than she hopes as her health deteriorates quickly as she gets pneumonia. But having survived the pneumonia and agreed to go on meds Rosemary makes the decision to find her son good foster parents before she passes but it is not simple as it affects the mother son relationship.
"A Mother's Prayer" was a movie I approached unsure of what I was going to get especially as it was a product of the mid 90s. On one hand was this going to be a movie which focussed on the Aids side of the story delivering the now cliche view on Aids portrayed in movies back then as how people are treated. Or would it focus more on the emotion of not only accepting death but also planning for her son's future. In the end it does both, it delivers a bit of cliche but mainly focuses on Rosemary making the tough decision to put her son up for adoption before she dies.
Now that certainly gives "A Mother's Prayer" an original premise as whilst not the first movie I have watched about a person dying and worrying about their child it is the first I watched which focuses on the emotional conflict of mother and son in this unusual situation. We see how letting go of her son is heart wrenching but just as tough for T.J. who starts to resent his mum, her illness and her decisions. It is an interesting look at this unusual situation and because of that it does keep you interested as to how this drama will play out.
But I have to say that "A Mother's Prayer" is also a very typical product of made for TV movies from the era. There is that element of humour which constantly creeps in from character attitudes and the usual aspect of being distracted by what seems insignificant. These things don't spoil things in fact "A Mother's Prayer" is a good movie but it is now dated.
Despite this "A Mother's Prayer" does have good performances with Linda Hamilton bringing both tough and emotional to the character of Rosemary whilst Noah Fleiss brings plenty of 8 year old attitude as her son. These two work well together in a way which makes it easy to get into the emotional drama but there is also a good supporting cast from S. Epatha Merkerson as nurse Ruby who gives as good as she gets to RuPaul who delivers a sweet and sympathetic performance as a counsellor fro a gay drop in centre who also has HIV.
What this all boils down to is that "A Mother's Prayer" is on one hand very typical of its era which makes it now seem dated but it also has an engaging storyline and engaging performances which makes it still watchable, interesting and also moving.
