This is a really emotional yet fascinating movie, and it was based on a true story! It was made for television in 1999, but it could easily be remade today for theatrical audiences (so the running time could be longer) as all the key issues are still relevant for modern audiences.
Told in interview-style flashbacks, we learn the story of a white woman who was raped by a black man and gave her baby up for adoption. Cara Buona (a great likeness to her older counterpart, Anne Bancroft) was married during her attack, and her husband Kevin O'Rourke was extremely supportive. Not only did he support her throughout the entire pregnancy, suggesting that they wouldn't be positive the baby wasn't his until after the birth, but after he found out it didn't belong to him, he offered to keep, raise, and love the child if Cara wanted to. Cara chose adoption because she didn't want her daughter to live through cruelties by her peers because she didn't look like her parents. She thought it would be best for the little girl to be raised by people who looked like her, an interesting and thoughtful choice during the 1960s (the time of the birth).
Cara and Kevin take their little bundle to Lynn Whitfield's foster home and are treated with contempt. Once again, Kevin shows his support by standing up to Lynn: "You might be used to this, but we're not." Through the years, Lynn forms an intense motherly bond with the little girl (who grows up to be Gloria Reuben), but everyone's hopes and dreams are crushed when she finally gets adopted. . . by a white couple.
That's just the start of the twists and turns of this very interesting story. I wish it were a book so I could find out even more about Gloria's life. If you missed this one when it aired on television, rent it.
Told in interview-style flashbacks, we learn the story of a white woman who was raped by a black man and gave her baby up for adoption. Cara Buona (a great likeness to her older counterpart, Anne Bancroft) was married during her attack, and her husband Kevin O'Rourke was extremely supportive. Not only did he support her throughout the entire pregnancy, suggesting that they wouldn't be positive the baby wasn't his until after the birth, but after he found out it didn't belong to him, he offered to keep, raise, and love the child if Cara wanted to. Cara chose adoption because she didn't want her daughter to live through cruelties by her peers because she didn't look like her parents. She thought it would be best for the little girl to be raised by people who looked like her, an interesting and thoughtful choice during the 1960s (the time of the birth).
Cara and Kevin take their little bundle to Lynn Whitfield's foster home and are treated with contempt. Once again, Kevin shows his support by standing up to Lynn: "You might be used to this, but we're not." Through the years, Lynn forms an intense motherly bond with the little girl (who grows up to be Gloria Reuben), but everyone's hopes and dreams are crushed when she finally gets adopted. . . by a white couple.
That's just the start of the twists and turns of this very interesting story. I wish it were a book so I could find out even more about Gloria's life. If you missed this one when it aired on television, rent it.