MovieChat Forums > Mother and Child (2010) Discussion > Paul and custody (spoiler)

Paul and custody (spoiler)

posted 13 years ago by monicac220
25 replies | jump to latest

I was a little bit surprised that there was no further follow up from Paul. I know she told him that the baby wasn't his, but it seems like he would have looked for some confirmation once the baby was born. If he learned she died, I would expect him to try to get custody. I may have missed something in the conversation between Elizabeth and Paul (when he shows up at her new job after his daughter sees her), or in the explanation by the nun (I heard her say that they attempted to find any relatives in local newspapers) that would have ruled out this possibility. I fully expected the next chain of events to involve his fight for custody since they kept emphasizing that there was no one who could claim custody of the child, with Karen and Lucy joining forces.

Overall a very good movie.

[–] Stirchley 13 years ago

Paul said he was going to the East Coast to start a new life with his new woman. How would he have known what happened to Elizabeth 3,000 miles away?

[–] Tiagurlie16 13 years ago

His daughter is still there and that's how he could've found out. In fact, she adopted her own sister! They didn't even clean that part of the movie up at all. Kind of left us hanging.

[–] karkar0825 13 years ago

What do you mean, she adopted her own sister?

[–] 13 years ago

[deleted]

[–] ACTINGDRAMA 13 years ago

lmao...

[–] Trackmaster 13 years ago

It's alright, black people can't tell white people apart either. Nobody's racist here, it just happens sometimes.

[–] AinFl 12 years ago

Im so very confused...Lucy was related to Paul???? When did we see that??? i do not recall seeing her at the family party???

Can anyone clear this up for me??

Thank you!

A true friend stabs you in the front~Oscar Wilde

[–] justinemac 12 years ago

"Im so very confused...Lucy was related to Paul???? When did we see that??? i do not recall seeing her at the family party???

Can anyone clear this up for me??"

Lucy wasn't related to Paul. But Paul is Ella's biological father.

[–] 12 years ago

[deleted]

[–] nicci212000 12 years ago

Tiagurlie16-

LMAO! You are confusing everyone by stating this in different threads.
Lucy did not adopt her own sister. There was never any mention of Lucy's sister in the movie. Lucy adpoted the baby from Elizabeth b/c Elizabeth died during child birth. The father of the baby was revealed to be Paul. He is indeed African American, but is not related to Lucy in any way.

There are three young african american women in this story(and two older ones who play two of the actresses mothers).

The young women in the story are:
Lucy(Woman who couldn't have children)- She adopts Elizabeth's baby after Elizabeth dies. = Kerry Washington

Maria (Adult Daughter of Paul)- Confronts Elizabeth about who the father is = Tatiana Ali

Ray (Girl giving her baby up for adpotion to Lucy, but changes her mind)= Shareeka Epps

Dear God, I hope this helps.

[–] ceegirl1212 13 years ago

Not to mention that she collapsed in the garage and would have neither the time nor inclination to tell anyone that she'd gone into labor. Given that she ran the minute she realized that Paul suspected he was the father, it's not likely that she would have listed him with the hospital. On what basis could Paul or his daughter search for this child?

[–] nihilistwonder 12 years ago

If the hospital and adoption agency had Elizabeth's real name and supposedly reported it in newspapers (most of which have online editions these days) then it seems possible some mutual acquaintance could have noticed it. The obituaries of young people tend to get noticed. Then whoever it was might have sent an email or text to Paul, "hey, remember that hot blonde that used to work for the firm? Saw that she just died!" He might then have put 2 and 2 together, and had the situation investigated.

"Shake me up, Judy!"

[–] justinemac 12 years ago

"I was a little bit surprised that there was no further follow up from Paul. I know she told him that the baby wasn't his, but it seems like he would have looked for some confirmation once the baby was born. If he learned she died, I would expect him to try to get custody...."

Some good points for sure.

When Paul showed up at Elizabeth's new job, he pretty much said that if she let him, he would always be there for her (and the baby). He'd make sure they were taken care of, and he'd also make sure Elizabeth got everything she wanted in her career.

he had said earlier that this new woman he had met (the one he'd been dating for three months) was kind and good for him. He knew that on some levels, Elizabeth was *not* good for him (which is why he had earlier told her he had to "bow out"). Remember, he was so close with his late wife. I think he really liked Elizabeth, maybe loved, but was scared off by how guarded she was and her willingness to run.

He told Elizabeth that this new woman was good for him but "you're what I want." I think he basically put her (Elizabeth) in the driver's seat. If she gave him the go ahead, he'd be there for her, as husband/partner and father.

But if she didn't give him the go ahead, I think he was willing to let her (and in doing so, his child) go. He knew that Elizabeth was a runner. She had already left several jobs and a few different cities. I don't think he was going to chase her down if she made herself unavailable.

So,assuming he never heard about her death, and just thought she left, he'd probably do nothing. There's also the fact that he was thinking about moving East, that he was older (past 60, I'm assuming), and he had already had his children.

[–] Jezzababe 12 years ago

Ok, i just finished watching this movie on my PC so i am going to explain this one the best i can....

Paul shows up at her work, says that his been with a new woman for 3 months, they were deciding to move to the East coast, he said he would forget all that and be with her and look after her and the child if it is his, the last line of that conversation, he said, "i would (or will) never leave" then you see her thinking for a few seconds... then the next scene is her packing, my interpretation is that shes packing to move in with him or be with him, that's my take on it, as she was going down in the elevator to her car with the box she looked happy, until
The blind girl came onto the elevator then she almost broke down, this led me to believe she was looking forward to her life with Paul but then felt bad about leaving the blind girl, then she goes into labor near her car.. next scene is her in hospital having a csection, from what i saw, there is someone sitting next to her, you only see lower body and arms, i'm guessing it is Paul as the arms were African American, who else would it be? so i'm going with Paul was there, my question is why didn't he want to keep his daughter? then i thought maybe he decided to be with the woman of 3 months afterall now that he can, and move with her like planned and decided not to take the child so chose adoption instead...

[–] nicci212000 12 years ago

^^ I don't understand why people are so confused by this movie. It is pretty much a straight forward story! You don't have to guess anything. All the answers are there if you paid attention and watched the entire movie...She was not going to start a new life with Paul or happy about starting a life with Paul. She was moving away from Paul since he discovered that she was pregnant. She was running away Again. She had been moving and running away from her problems most of her life. This is the reason she was upset in the elevator. She had met someone (the blind girl) that she genuinely liked, and she was having to run again. She didn't even have the courage to say goodbye.

The last we saw of Paul he was giving her a choice. He wasn't going to force himself on her b/c he knew how stubborn and strong willed she was. He didn't even know if the baby was his or not for sure, but he still went to her to do the right thing anyway. The audience didn't even know for sure if Paul was the father until the baby came out black.

Paul did not know about the birth. He was not at the hospital at all. You are greatly mistaken.

[–] Jezzababe 12 years ago

nicci212000 I think you need to watch the scenes i have mentioned again, as i watched the movie lastnight and gladly just went through the scenes again, and what i said, is infact there, you can interpret it different, that's fine, but don't say i'm wrong or mistaken if i interpret it different or picked up on things you didn't.

[–] nicci212000 12 years ago

^^Sure it's possible to interpret anything another way if you want, but it was all laid out for us. Elizabeth was stand offish to Paul's daughter and to Paul. She said it wasn't his baby. So she wasn't interested in his offer. I believe that the last scene between Elizabeth and Paul was a shot of him walking away from her seemingly with no resolution. IMO, this signified the end of them especially since the affair had already been done for several months.

Then they showed her moving out. I just don't understand why you would think that she was moving in with Paul, and had changed her mind after all that. It was pretty clear that although she wanted the baby, Paul was just sex to her. She wasn't interested in having him in her life long term. There was no indication in the movie that she had all of a sudden changed her mind and was moving in w/him. Besides if she were moving in w/Paul they prob would have shown him or his daughter helping her move. Elizabeth was very pregnant, and was not suppose to be moving things. Her stubborn ways were showing again. She was moving to get away.

In regards to the arms, I can't watch it again b/c I don't own it on DVD. I watched it twice on HBO. I remember there was a lot of medical staff around Elizabeth. I remember that there was no one there with her. I remember b/c I was specifically checking for that. The arms that you saw were probably medical staff. I wouldn't just assume that it was Paul just b/c the arms were black. If it was meant to be Paul, why not just show Paul? Paul and his daughter both showed interest in the baby. He said he wanted to be a father to the baby. Him abandoning Ella after her Mother passes away doesn't seem to be in line with the character of Paul. Plus the movie didn't show Paul abandoning Ella. Also, the Nun said there was No One! She said this more than once. She didn't say that there was a father, but he didn't want the baby. I'm just trying to help you reason. Feel free to interpret the scenes however you like.

[–] Jezzababe 12 years ago

In your OPINION it was all laid out for us in the way YOU see it, if you agree with anyone can interpret anything the way they want then you can't then go and say that what i'm saying is not there.

It was not medical staff arms because the person was sitting next to her, and normally when someone has a csection a husband/partner/boyfriend/family member sits next to you, and i still say that it was Paul because why have an african american sitting next to her while giving birth? if they don't want people to assume this why only show lower half of the body, male sitting down, and dark skin? why not have an image of a woman, or light skinned person, so yes, i do still think it's Paul, maybe you need to rent it to have a look again, i think they didn't show the scene with paul's face etc.. is because of the angle they wanted the view of the camera, from above, directly on her face, close up, her reaction to giving birth to her daughter just before her death. Maybe he wanted to let go and have the life with his new woman that he already had planned before he found out about the baby, and maybe since he's already a very older man and has adult children, maybe he felt it best to let her go as he cannot live upto the demands of a newborn, this is how i feel, and that's ok to feel this way about the movie, you have your interpretation, cool, but so do i.

[–] atmypique 12 years ago

Sorry - I'm with nicci212000 - unfortunately I erased my copy earlier tonight after finishing the film, so I also can't go back and verify the delivery scene. However, I had a question about something else while viewing, and I had gone back a few scenes and watched Ella's delivery a second time, watching that particular sequence very closely...After Paul had come to visit her at work, there was no question in my mind she was running post haste, while risking her pregnancy not going to term, to get away from Paul - and fast! She couldn't be sure which man was the baby's father, but her intentions were clear to me she had always planned on going the motherhood route alone.

[–] Skreee 12 years ago

Paul wasn't with her in the hospital. Maybe there was an anaesthetist next to her, but it wasn't Paul. She wasn't going to live with him, she was running away (why else would she be so heartbroken about leaving Violet, if she wasn't leaving town?) Why would she have to pack all her stuff if she was just moving in with Paul? Or why would she even *have* to move in with him at all? Why was there no scene where she told him that she would come back to him? Why no scene were he told her how he broke up with the other woman. Because she wasn't going back to him, she was skipping town. If you want to interpret it in a different way, go ahead, but it's not because you are "picking up on things" other people didn't see, it's because you didn't.

[–] ravmeltt 11 years ago

I so agree with you and nicci. The other poster (j...something), really wants to see what she wants to see. I don't need to re-write what you and nicci wrote because it's all there, and I agree 150%.

This is my signature and I'm sticking to it. lol

[–] andy-todd-1 11 years ago

Also with nicci on this. Elizabeth valued her indepence above all else and had no intention of ever getting married (or having that close of a relationship with anyone - including Paul, even the blind girl). Re-watch the scene of Paul's first interview with Elizabeth after he asks about her personal life.

[–] Cyraxote 10 years ago

It's fascinating how people can create all kinds of stuff that isn't there.

[–] IL_Maestro 10 years ago

I too thought she was moving with him, I don't understand how far she was from where he lived
but again, how come she packed everything and carried it to the car if he knew and was taking her to live with him?
but still he wouldn't force himself on her, so she didn't really need to run away this time especially when she had just sent a letter to her mom.

"It is never about what happened, it is only how you look at it!"

[–] SlackerInc (1075) a year ago

It's too bad she didn't listen to the doctor.

She was definitely not moving in with Paul.