Return to Zero is my first movie preview and I was thrilled to get a chance to watch this movie before the premiere, which will be on Lifetime (Channel 709 on Astro) this Tuesday, 20 May at 8pm. Repeats on 25 May, Sunday at 9pm and 31 May, Saturday at 4pm
About the Show
Lifetime brings viewers the first and exclusive movie premiere of Return to Zero. Weeks before their due date, Maggie and Aaron are shocked to discover that their baby will be stillborn. The tragedy tears them apart and when Maggie is ready to start a new life, she discovers she is pregnant. Return to Zero is based on the real-life experience of Sean Hanish and his wife. Sean and his wife Kiley had a stillborn child. In 2005, in week 37 of the pregnancy, after a healthy check just the previous month, there was no heartbeat from their unborn child. Their son, Norbert, was born still.
I must warn you, prepare lots of tissues when watching this show, or better still a towel. This is a heartbreaking story about what could have been, a life that could have been but was not. It is also a story of hope, of how your decisions can ultimately change your lives. I went away from the movie more grateful of my life and what I have instead of asking about what I don’t have. The acting by Minnie Driver as the mother of the stillborn child is so real and believable. The pregnancy and child birth scenes, they are unlike any other movies I’ve watched, they are so real, just like my own experience when delivering my boys.
I think Filmmaker Sean Hanish is also really brave and courageous to make this film that is based on his own experience. Still birth and Miscarriage can sometimes be such a taboo subject, nobody wants to talk about it. Yet it is something that happens a lot and a lot of parents that go through it end up having to pend up their feelings and emotions as there aren’t a lot of write ups about it, not a lot of answers for sure. I cannot imagine, having to go through such pain and having no outlet for discussion, having no one to talk to. People will try to avoid you as they know you’d be sensitive and they have to be so careful with their words. I have known a few people that have to go through this, but I had never known what to say to them after such devastation in their lives. It is a hard, hard topic. Most mothers end up suffering in this silence often believing that their grief and trauma is theirs to bear alone. That is why, this movie is so timely and beautifully made, Return to Zero intends to break through the silence and become a beacon of cinematic light to the millions in search of answers, understanding and healing.
Disclaimer: I was not paid for this review. However, I did receive the movie in a CD for free to assist in my reviews. The opinions in this blog post are 100% mine.