Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows FanStore News Showtimes

Losing Isaiah

Play trailer Poster for Losing Isaiah R 1995 1h 46m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
45% Tomatometer 29 Reviews 73% Popcornmeter 10,000+ Ratings
Khaila Richards (Halle Berry), a crack-addicted single mother, accidentally leaves her baby in a dumpster while high and returns the next day in a panic to find he is missing. In reality, the baby has been adopted by a warm-hearted social worker, Margaret Lewin (Jessica Lange), and her husband, Charles (David Strathairn). Years later, Khaila has gone through rehab and holds a steady job. After learning that her child is still alive, she challenges Margaret for the custody.
Watch on Fandango at Home Buy Now

Where to Watch

Losing Isaiah

Losing Isaiah

What to Know

Critics Consensus

Losing Isaiah makes an admirable attempt to tackle complex, worthwhile themes, but loses sight of effective storytelling during a descent into melodrama.

Read Critics Reviews

Critics Reviews

View All (29) Critics Reviews
Lisa Schwarzbaum Entertainment Weekly Rated: B- Sep 7, 2011 Full Review Todd McCarthy Variety The material is emotionally wrenching, but the actors play sociopolitical totems more than flesh-and-blood characters. Sep 3, 2008 Full Review Jonathan Rosenbaum Chicago Reader This is an absorbing and involving picture, but the terms propounded here limit the story, which depends almost entirely on emotions rather than on thought. Sep 3, 2008 Full Review TV Guide Despite the fine leads and some well-crafted scenes, Losing Isaiah is apt to make viewers angry and frustrated no matter where they stand on the issues. Rated: 2.5/4 Sep 3, 2008 Full Review Susan Granger www.susangranger.com Rated: 3/5 Apr 20, 2006 Full Review Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com Rated: 2/5 Jun 30, 2005 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (377) audience reviews
T23Byon M Each kid deserves love regardless their appearance, background, or circumstances beyond "their control". Listening/Loyalty. Observation/Opulence. Validation/Victory. Exuberance/Excellence. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 04/11/23 Full Review Audience Member I wasn't familiar with the true story but was expecting a dated look at drug addiction and class disparity baked into a predictable plot. Thankfully I was also treated to a legal drama, one in which I went back and forth regarding my thoughts on the outcome of the case. It did take a little while to get into this but it was easy to stay focused once the more captivating legal issues came into play, creating stakes for nearly every character. This featured a very recognizable cast although that didn't mean I actually liked all the performances. Samuel L. Jackson Binge: Jackson had one of the better, if not best, performances in this movie with his intensely focused portrayal of the lawyer who was advocating on behalf of the biological mother. He had the chance to perform on a few different levels here and successfully went a bit deeper than he is normally asked to. SLJ January #47 Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 01/20/23 Full Review Audience Member Hally Berry played the mess out of this role! Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/19/23 Full Review ashley h Losing Isaiah is an excellent film. It is about natural and adoptive mothers of a young boy are involved in a custody battle. Jessica Lange and Halle Berry give fantastic performances. The screenplay is good but a little slow in places. Stephen Gyllenhaal did a great job directing this movie. I enjoyed watching this motion picture because of the drama. Losing Isaiah is a must see. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member Una de las películas q más me ha hecho llorar en mi vida. Un lindo mensaje de amor Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 02/14/23 Full Review Audience Member Despite having strong central performances from both Jessica Lange and Halle Berry this is an overly sentimental and schmaltzy movie that plays every trick to play at the heart strings and doesn't really succeed. What should be a difficult and interesting and powerful conflict about whether it is better that an abandoned child is better raised with a family from a different ethnic background or returned to his birth mother is dealt with in only the most simplistic terms and is not really explored as fully as such a topic should be. Maybe this is an argument that has had its day since the movie was made but it all feels somewhat glib, a feeling not helped by the rather unsatisfying way in which the movie ends. These days, I would hope that in such situations, none of the professional and legal bodies depicted in this movie would behave in the manner depicted and the fact that there is little exploration by the court as to what is best for the child nor does there seem to be any involvement of the child in the decision. Maybe we've just moved on? I would hope so. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 01/13/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Losing Isaiah

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW

Cast & Crew

Losing Isaiah

Losing Isaiah: Official Clip - Isaiah Grows Up Losing Isaiah: Official Clip - Isaiah Grows Up 2:09 Losing Isaiah: Official Clip - I'm His Mother Losing Isaiah: Official Clip - I'm His Mother 1:57 Losing Isaiah: Official Clip - Stop the Blade Losing Isaiah: Official Clip - Stop the Blade 2:00 Losing Isaiah: Official Clip - I Threw Him Away Losing Isaiah: Official Clip - I Threw Him Away 2:08 Losing Isaiah: Official Clip - I Love Him Too Losing Isaiah: Official Clip - I Love Him Too 2:12 Losing Isaiah: Official Clip - She Wants Him Back Losing Isaiah: Official Clip - She Wants Him Back 2:06 Losing Isaiah: Official Clip - You Ain't Leaving That Baby Here Losing Isaiah: Official Clip - You Ain't Leaving That Baby Here 2:02 Losing Isaiah: Official Clip - What About Love? Losing Isaiah: Official Clip - What About Love? 2:09 Losing Isaiah: Official Clip - We're Always Together Losing Isaiah: Official Clip - We're Always Together 2:05 View more videos
Indecent Proposal 34% 47% Indecent Proposal Watchlist Intersection 9% 40% Intersection Watchlist Nobody's Fool 91% 81% Nobody's Fool Watchlist Heartburn 48% 46% Heartburn Watchlist True Colors 44% 45% True Colors Watchlist Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

Movie Info

Synopsis Khaila Richards (Halle Berry), a crack-addicted single mother, accidentally leaves her baby in a dumpster while high and returns the next day in a panic to find he is missing. In reality, the baby has been adopted by a warm-hearted social worker, Margaret Lewin (Jessica Lange), and her husband, Charles (David Strathairn). Years later, Khaila has gone through rehab and holds a steady job. After learning that her child is still alive, she challenges Margaret for the custody.
Director
Stephen Gyllenhaal
Producer
Hawk Koch, Naomi Foner
Screenwriter
Naomi Foner
Production Co
Paramount Pictures
Rating
R
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Streaming)
Jun 15, 2011
Box Office (Gross USA)
$3.7M
Runtime
1h 46m
Sound Mix
Stereo, Surround
Most Popular at Home Now