“Godsend”

By David DiCerto
Catholic News Service

NEW YORK (CNS) -- When a tragedy takes their young son's life, a couple strikes a Faustian bargain to get him back, with unforeseen consequences, in the cautionary thriller "Godsend" (Lions Gate).

Fueled by the debate surrounding advances in reproductive technologies, the film touches on vitally important issues concerning bioethics and the moral implications of artificially creating human life. But while the questions raised are thought-provoking, the only thing the movie itself provokes in viewers is the urge to check their watches.

Greg Kinnear and Rebecca Romijn-Stamos star as Paul and Jessie Duncan, a husband and wife whose domestic bliss is shattered when their 8-year-old son, Adam (Cameron Bright), is killed in a traffic accident. An uncharacteristically hammy Robert De Niro plays Richard Wells, a brilliant but enigmatic geneticist who approaches the Duncans with the incredible offer to clone Adam and give them back their happy life.

Paul, a high school biology teacher, balks at the preposterous proposal, voicing ethical and legal concerns. However, Jessie, a photographer, is willing to pursue any means to get her son back -- even if means the new child would just be an identical "copy." After much soul-searching, Paul's resistance gives way to acquiescence.

The couple resettles in the small town where Wells' Godsend Fertility Clinic is situated. To assure that the illegal procedure is kept absolutely secret, Wells demands that they sever all ties with their former life. Jessie is fertilized with stem cells carrying Adam's DNA, and soon after gives birth to "Adam" -- for a second time.

Adam's life proceeds with "Groundhog Day"-like predictability, but as he reaches his eighth birthday -- the age his duplicate died -- things begin to take an ominous turn. He starts to have vivid nightmares, which Wells -- who has remained close to the family as an "uncle" -- dismisses as the common childhood sleep disorder known as "night terrors." But as the visions become more intense, Adam's lovable personality darkens, revealing a sinister streak. The Duncans decide to seek outside medical advice -- a move strongly discouraged by Wells.

Adam's cryptic references to "another boy" spark fears that he is somehow "remembering" things from the first Adam's life, forcing Paul and Jessie to come to terms with their decision and setting in motion a series of chilling revelations about Wells' shadowy past.

Kinnear and Romijn-Stamos are both solid and convincingly convey the devastation of losing a child. Their sympathetic portrayal of the grief-stricken couple allows viewers to empathize with their pain-prompted decision. However, Catholics should be careful not to interpret such emotional commiseration as justification for condoning their course of action. And while not likely to blur the moral outlook of adults concerning the issue of cloning, the film employs a stacked-deck tactic by couching the central question in such a way that if you find fault in the Duncans' decision to undergo the procedure you run the risk of coming across as heartless.

As directed by Nick Hamm, the film wisely avoids bloated special effects, relying more on subtlety and suggestion to create an atmosphere of psychological suspense. The movie is full of allegorical references and images that underscore the themes explored. Adam, an obvious allusion to Genesis, is the first child ever successfully cloned. Even the spiral staircase in the Duncans' home is photographed to look like the twisting double helix of a strand of DNA.

Early on, in an unrelated discussion, Jessie tells her husband, "Sometimes ethics have to take a back seat" -- which is exactly what happens. Though Paul initially refers to the cloning process as only "potentially immoral," the overall message of the film seems to fall on the side of condemnation -- or at least caution -- when attempting to play God.

Unfortunately, after an intelligent setup, the story's philosophical pretensions quickly give way to spooky atmospherics and standard ghost-story devices which detract from the central moral dilemma posed. The rickety script's emotionally unsatisfying ending leaves too much unresolved.

The final confrontation between Paul and Wells, though heavy-handed in its execution, brings to the fore the important distinction between "can do" and "should do." Wells roars, "If I'm not supposed to do this, then how come I can?" The church teaches that medical science does not have the moral right to do something simply because that something is now doable -- especially when that something denies the sacred dignity of the human person, and reduces humans to mere objects which can be manipulated. As G.K. Chesterton once said, "We are learning a great many clever things. The next great task will be to learn not to do them."

Due to a sexual encounter, a problematic theme of cloning, recurring profanity, sporadic crude language and some scary sequences, the USCCB Office for Film & Broadcasting classification is A-III -- adults. The Motion Picture Association of America rating is PG-13 -- parents are strongly cautioned. Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13.

* DiCerto is on the staff of the Office for Film & Broadcasting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.