Making Grace (2004)

March 2, 2015 11:19 AM

Ann and Leslie are a lesbian couple in NYC in 2000 trying to have a baby.

The A.V. Club's review:

Together, they face and surmount minor hurdles, but nothing terribly dramatic ever transpires. It's just a small pleasure to share their company for 90 minutes—nothing more, nothing less. Making Grace documents the conception and early life of the couple's first child, and while a second child is subsequently conceived, the film's quiet affability doesn't exactly demand a sequel. Krsul and Sullivan eventually emerge as something resembling loving, responsible poster children for lesbian parenting, but thankfully not at the expense of their quirkiness, neuroses, or humanity.

Village Voice:

Card-carrying members of Focus on the Family, take note: Lesbian mothers are nice ladies with normal lives.

The New York Times:

"Making Grace" is a small, intimate documentary that patiently observes the highs and lows of a 30-something couple who want to become parents. That the couple are lesbians is perhaps the most remarkable feature of an unremarkable film; yet, in its very mundanity, the story of Ann Krsul and Leslie Sullivan is quiet proof that families are indeed created, not mandated.

posted by jillithd (1 comment total)

I had the laid-back pleasure of watching this film this weekend. I thought it was such an intriguing snapshot of the year 2000: paper files at the doctor's office, the twin towers in the Manhattan skyline, and predates the current wave of gay marriage legalization winning over the USA right now.

And this couple! The dynamics between Ann and Leslie are really quietly spell-binding. I don't get much exposure to real life lesbian relationships in media, so I enjoyed this muchly. I love seeing Ann as this driven career woman and then, later, snuggling and nursing her little baby in bed. I loved the story of how her parents drove her around with the newborn as she visited job sites, then nursed when she got back to the car. And, as the mother of a small child, I really appreciated the frankness of Ann and Leslie's discussion about how they've never fought so hard as they did since they've had a baby.

I really love how their friend Dave thinks out the consequences of being the potential sperm donor. To him, it wouldn't just be handing off a cup of sperm. He'd be becoming a father and he didn't like that idea when he had turned it down in his own previous relationship. The depths that he was considering this decision really impressed me.

And I appreciated the small discussion of all the legal paperwork (and family discussions) regarding Leslie's role as mother.
posted by jillithd at 11:31 AM on March 2, 2015 [1 favorite]