Exceptional

Rating: 10/10 (2 August 2009)

Finally, a movie that is good enough to see over and over!! This was an exceptional movie and the girl that played Ester is bound for greatness if she performs this well at such a young age. This is also a very original story line. I thought it would be the typical "unloved child tries to win all the love" movie, but it well surpassed that. The opening scene in the movie was convincingly acted. I felt real emotional pain for the mother. Of course, this movie is about a family that adopts a child named Ester. She seemingly wants all of the attention, but goes about getting it in ways that leave someone else looking like they, not her, have done something wrong in this. When the mom feels like something could be wrong, she tries to trace Ester's biology back to Russia so she can find out more about where Ester originated and the influences she had before she came to America. One of the children in the story, Max, is a deaf child. Max is an adorable little girl. Ester uses Max and the fact that she is deaf to her advantage. You don't see the end of the movie coming. It is a huge plot twist. I would call this movie a must see.