October Baby

Jesse and I watched October Baby at a Saturday matinee this past weekend. We heard a good bit about it before hand, knew the story and we looked forward to seeing it. But we were surprised by it's quality, story, acting and production which was all excellent.

Notes from October Baby facebook page:
"As the curtain rises, Hannah hesitantly steps onto the stage for her theatrical debut in college. Yet before she can utter her first lines, Hannah—unscripted—collapses in front of the stunned audience.
After countless medical tests, all signs point to one underlying factor: Hannah’s difficult birth. This revelation is nothing compared to what she then learns from her parents: she was actually adopted … after a failed abortion attempt.
Bewildered, angered, and confused, Hannah turns for support to Jason, her oldest friend. Encouraged by his adventurous spirit, Hannah joins his group of friends on a Spring Break road trip, embarking on a journey to discover her hidden past … and find hope for her unknown future.
In the midst of her incredible journey, Hannah finds that life can be so much more than what you have planned."

Hannah writes in her journal that she doesn't want to live, that she doesn't feel like she belongs. She didn't know she was adopted, let alone had an abortive procedure done to her. Her line in the movie is that she needs to find her birth mother, her real mother, to find who she is.
Jason invites her to go with him on a road trip with his girlfriend and other college buddies. They are headed to New Orleans by way of Mobile which is where she thinks her birth mother is. Hannah's dad is concerned about the trip after her medical issues and tells Jason that he put him "in a bad position."
Hannah finds the nurse, an older woman, who tells her the whole story of meeting Hannah's mom at the abortion clinic and how she was conflicted about the abortion. The abortion failed and the doctors recommended that the mom return to have it done a second time. When she returns to the clinic the next day, the nurse immediately recognizes the signs of labor and takes her to a hospital. The nurse stays with her the whole time since the mom had no one else. Hannah finds out that she was a twin and her brother was born first, though very sickly and mutilated from the failed abortion - his arm was torn off. Hannah was born second and though she was weak, she hand't suffered nearly as much. The twins were adopted immediately by Hannah's parents and the brother, whom they named Jonathan, died in the hospital 4 months after birth. Hannah lived.
The nurse tells Hannah that her birth mother is an established lawyer and tells her where to find her. She meets her mother, but the mother can't deal with the situation and dismisses her.
Hannah returns home feeling like she failed in "finding" herself. She now knows more about her life story, but hasn't found the reconciliation she needed. She visits a church and while she sits in the pew telling her story to the priest, she finds God. She says that she hates herself for living when Jonathan died and she hates her birth mom for trying to kill her and she hates her parents for hiding all of it from her. The priest tells her that since she is a Christian, she has Christ. And He forgives her sin - her hatred - and now she must forgive others too.

The first thing that jumped out at me is the men. Her birth mother didn't know the man that got her pregnant. Hannah's adoptive father was trying to protect her, but wasn't good at understanding her. Jason was a great friend and gentlemen, but it wasn't his job yet. Jonathan, the son of Saul, is David's friend. A King's friend. The twin brother took the brunt of the abortion and protected his sister by giving her a chance to live. He stood in the hard place as every man must. The dad was right when he said he was put in a hard place, but that is exactly his place to be. At the end of the movie, the birth mother is showed with her husband and young child and she is telling her husband about her abortion. Hannah's father apologizes and they repair their relationship. Jason is encouraged to move forward with Hannah and takes her on a date. There is reconciliation between the men and the women they are charged to care for.

The second thing that I noticed was the sin of hatred. "You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment." Matthew 5:21-22 He who hates his brother commits murder. Abortion is a material form of hatred and selfishness. You cannot serve two masters and live. If you love yourself over God, you will ignore His law, His creation, His commandments and set yourself above His image. Killing a fetus at any age, whether surgically or through a form of medication, is murder and a destruction of life who, like all men, is created in the image of God.
If Hannah could not forgive those around her and herself, if she couldn't let go of her hatred and use love instead, she was no better than an abortionist.

Lastly, there is a lot of talk in the adoptive world about "finding yourself" or if you adoptive trans racially, not "losing your heritage". Yes, we should be confident people who know who they are and a heritage is indeed something to treasure. But our heritage and definition as individuals is found corporately in the body of Christ. We are all adopted into God's family as Christ's brothers and sisters. And that is our home, our foundation, and where we find ourselves - in the word and at the sacraments.

The movie was well written with a good story. The beginning stretched the realm of disbelief a bit, but the ending was sound. Movies are a great place to show the story, instead of telling it like a book would and this movie did pretty good. The acting was great! Superb job on the main actress part! An extremely well done movie at Hollywood production standards.

The movie opened over the weekend and became #8 in the nation, even though it had a limited release in less than 400 theaters. Other top ten movies were released in thousands of theaters.