Moore, Bening as lesbian parents in Berlin fest film



BERLIN- Julianne Moore and Annette Bening star as a married lesbian couple whose two children go looking for their sperm donor in a movie met with cheers Wednesday at the 60th Berlin Film Festival.
"The Kids Are All Right" by Lisa Cholodenko sees Moore and Bening as a happy couple of two decades whose relationship begins to falter when their teenagers' biological father enters the picture.
Moore, 49, said the film was refreshing for taking a lesbian-led household for granted and offering an honest look with a light touch at the dynamics of a long-term relationship.



Julianne Moore (Axel Schmidt/AFP)
Julianne Moore (Axel Schmidt/AFP)
"For me the movie is very much a portrait of a marriage and a family and about what it's like to be married for a long time and have children," she told reporters.
"I don't think it matters what your sexuality is. I think all families are the same that way."
The film shows the sperm donor Paul, played by Mark Ruffalo ("Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind"), as a ladies' man who finds himself drawn in by the family of two women and two adolescents.
Meanwhile, Moore's character Jules is adrift in her career and feeling bullied by Nic (Bening), a successful obstetrician.
She begins to do some work at Paul's house but the strong bond they develop puts her marriage to Nic under threat.
Cholodenko said she saw the film, which she spent five years developing, as a timely addition to the heated debate in the United States over gay marriage and what constitutes a "real" family.
"I don't see myself as an overtly political person. What I did feel good about though, is that there is so much activity in the States right now around gay marriage," she said.
"I think that the timing of this film is really interesting -- it wasn't calculated, we tried to make this film quite a while ago" but needed time to secure financing from reluctant studios.
Cholodenko, 45, who has worked on television series including "Six Feet Under" and "The L Word", said that she hoped the door was opening to more films featuring unconventional families.
"It's difficult but hopefully the atmosphere will change," she said.
"The Kids Are All Right" is screening out of competition at the Berlin Film Festival, which wraps up Sunday.
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Thursday, February 18th 2010
AFP
           


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