Bless the Child

Synopsis: Omens and concepts of good vs. evil have no place in Maggie O'Connor's well-ordered, practical universe. Her life revolves around her job as a nurse at a busy New York hospital, until one rainy night, her sister Jenna abandons her newborn, autistic daughter at her home. Maggie takes the baby in, and she becomes the daughter she never had. Six years later Jenna suddenly re-appears with a mysterious new husband, Eric, and abducts Cody. Despite the fact that Maggie has no legal rights to Cody, FBI agent John Travis, an expert in ritual homicide and occult-related crime, takes up her cause when he realizes that Cody shares the same birth date as several other recently missing children. The little girl, it soon becomes clear, is more than simply "special." She manifests extraordinary powers that the forces of evil have waited centuries to control, and her abduction sparks a clash between the soldiers of good and evil that can only be resolved, in the end, by the strength of one small child
Genre: Crime, Drama, Horror
Director(s): Chuck Russell
Production: Paramount Pictures
  1 win & 6 nominations.
 
IMDB:
5.1
Metacritic:
17
Rotten Tomatoes:
3%
R
Year:
2000
107 min
$28,134,407
Website
286 Views


- [ Bell Ringing ]|- ~ 'Tis the season to be jolly~

~Fa la, la, la, la, la, la~

~Don we now our gay apparel~

~~[Continues, Indistinct]

- [Woman]Did you see it, darling?|- Excuse me?

- [Woman]Did you see it, darling?|- Excuse me?

Star of Yacov, what they be calling|the Christmas star.

Ain't been seen since Bethlehem.|And now it's here.

- That's nice.|- Oh, yes. Very nice.

It's a good sign|for all good people.

Means someone special|come from God.

What do you think about that?

I don't know. I'm not sure|I believe in that kind of thing.

Oh, that don't matter. It's there|if you believe or not believe.

It don't care.

[Coughing]

Merry Christmas.

I don't have any change.

If you need a place to stay, there's|a shelter right down on Nassau.

-Jenna?|- Say hello to your Aunt Maggie.

I don't even know|where to start,Jenna.

It's been two years.

- [ Crying ]|- And a baby. What's his name?

- Her name is Cody.|- Cody.

She's eight-- Oh, no.

She's nine days old.

- Can I pick her up?|- She doesn't like to be held,

but do what you want.

She's soaking wet.|Are you breast feeding?

- Who's the father?|- [ Chuckles ] Beats me.

- Beats you?|- It means I don't know.

It could have been a couple of guys.|I didn't get a name and a number.

-Do you have any diapers or formula?|-In the bag.

You gave birth on drugs?

Are you insane?

- Answer me!|- [Cody Crying]

What?

What do you want me to say?|That I'm not perfect, like you?

- I'm not.|- I didn't say I was perfect.

But if I had a daughter, I wouldn't|let her be born a drug addict.

She's not strung out, okay?

I--|[ Sniffles ]

I took her to the clinic and|they said it was something else.

- What something else?|- I don't know.

You have a child. If you don't|give a damn about yourself,

at least|you have to care about her!

- Why?|- Because you're her mother!

Gee.

What's wrong, Mags?

Are you a little pissed|that maybe there is one thing...

I can do better than you after all?

- What are you talking about?|- You know. ''Mommy hood.''

Maybe if you could|have carried a kid,

that piece-of-sh*t husband of yours|wouldn't have run out on you.

What was it,|two miscarriages, three?

[ Sobbing ]

Why do you do this,|Jenna?

I'm the only family|you've got left.

I am the one that|is in trouble here, okay?

I came to you for a little help|and all you can do is give me sh*t!

I made a mistake coming here.|I'm leaving.

No,Jenna.

Don't run away again.

I'm so scared, Mags.

I don't know|what I'm gonna do.

I'm gonna help you,

but first you have|to get off the drugs.

Okay?

[Cody Crying]

Hi, you.

Where are you going?

To take a bath.

That's what you always say, right?|''A hot bath will cure anything.''

Why don't we|change your socks?

[Clattering]

Jenna?

Jenna!Jenna!

[Cody Crying]

Okay, okay.

[Continues Crying]

Okay. It's okay.

[ Laughs ]|Hi.

Hi.

[ No Audible Dialog ]

You're a psychiatric nurse,|Maggie.

You know the diagnosis|as well as I do--

the arching back, the repetitive|behavior and the attention deficit.

I used to think|it was autism too,

but I'm not so sure anymore.

It's as if she's listening|to something we can't hear or see.

It's a difficult diagnosis|to accept. I know that.

But there are a wide range|of degrees of autism.

Cody may well be|one of the lucky ones.

Reading, writing,|language skills.

She may even be able|to express basic emotions.

She does.|I know she's a little withdrawn,

but she smiles and hugs me and|kisses me just like any little girl.

There's a special-needs school|in Brooklyn-- pre through six.

They've had great results|with kids like Cody.

It's Catholic. I don't know whether|that's any problem for you.

No. I was brought up|a Catholic.

Just so it's not|too religious.

And later, if her condition|gets more severe--

[Woman On TV]|I welcome you with open arms.

- It gets better every time.|- I've sponsored your appointment,

because I feel you are the most|able statesman in all Freedonia.

[Man] That covers a lot of ground.|You cover a lot of ground yourself.

Leave in a taxi. If you can't get|a taxi, you can leave in a huff.

If that's too soon, you can|leave in a minute and a huff.

You haven't stopped talking|since I came here.

You must have been vaccinated|with a phonograph needle.

[Thudding]

- [TV Shuts Off]|- What is it?

Cody! Cody!

Cody, Cody.

It's okay, baby girl.|It's okay, baby girl.

It's all right.|It's okay.

Just relax.|Take a big, deep breath.

Go--|[ Inhales ]

- Is she okay?|- Yes. She does this sometimes.

Look, I gotta get going.|I've gotta be up early tomorrow.

-All right.|-I got a pretty busy week this week,

but I'll--|I'll call you... soon.

That would be nice.

[ Murmuring ]|Don't leave in a huff.

- [Door Closes]|- Leave in a minute and a huff.

Now where is that mouse?

Right here?

Is that him?

I want you to get|some sleep, okay?

Okay?

Good night, sweetheart.

Time to work|on the picture board, Cody.

Cody. Cody.

- Don't you want to work?|- Please, Sister, after you.

Well, thank you, but we're|not working on our manners today.

Maybe we should.

No work.|Sister Rosa go work. Good-bye.

Cody, your aunt is here for you.

[ Voice Whispers, Indistinct]

[ Voice Whispers, Indistinct]

Martin?

- Martin Casillas?|- Yeah?

Martin, you remember me.|I'm a friend of your father's.

You were at my house last year.

- You're six, aren't you?|- Yeah.

- Good. You like dogs?|- Sure.

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Thomas Rickman

Thomas Rickman (8 June 1776 – 4 January 1841), was an English architect and architectural antiquary who was a major figure in the Gothic Revival. He is particularly remembered for his Attempt to Discriminate the Styles of English Architecture (1817), which established the basic chronological classification and terminology that are still in widespread use for the different styles of English medieval ecclesiastical architecture. more…

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Submitted on August 05, 2018

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