Review of Losing Isaiah

LOSING ISAIAH is a moving and well-acted drama that takes a hot-button issue to an emotionally manipulative level but will involve you to the point of taking sides. Halle Berry plays a crack addict who, one night desperate to get high, leaves her newborn baby in a pile of garbage and when she returns after her mission, finds the baby gone. The baby is rescued and is eventually taken home and raised by a sensitive social worker (Jessica Lange) who decides to raise and adopt the hyper-active, crack-addicted baby as her own. In the meantime, Berry gets clean, wants her baby back and takes Lange to court to regain custody of her son. This is an involving story that provides a balanced account of an emotional issue and if you're really paying attention, you will find your alliance with the protagonists in this story switching from time to time. Lange is solid, as always, and Halle Berry works hard at being convincing as a reformed junkie. Strong support is provided by Samuel L. Jackson and LaWanda Richardson (the real-life spouse of Jackson)as Lange and Berry's attorneys, David Straithern as Lang'es husband, and Daisy Prince as Lange's daughter. No matter how hard you try to remain neutral, this film will suck you in and find you taking sides.