Film

Rodrigo Garcia's film Mother and Child is his most formally daring, says critic David Edelstein. Starring Annette Bening, Kerry Washington and Naomi Watts, the film centers around the bonds between a birth mother and her children, even after that child is placed up for adoption.

Filmmaker Rodrigo Garcia never intended to write and direct movies: He wanted to stay behind the camera. Garcia explains how he got the idea for the drama Mother and Child and details what it was like growing p as the son of novelist Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

Critic David Edelstein says the effects-mad blockbuster is a smart piece of work. The sequel to the first Iron Man stars Robert Downey Jr. as a billionaire superhero who must simultaneously do battle with his enemies and with Congress.

The British stage and film star -- a member of a storied acting dynasty -- died Sunday after "a seven-year journey with breast cancer," her family said. She was 67. Fresh Air remembers the star of Georgy Girl and The Happy Hooker with excerpts from a 1986 conversation.

Critic David Edelstein reviews Nicole Holofcener's offbeat film about a couple (played by Oliver Platt and Catherine Keener) who are planning to expand their apartment into the one next door — just as soon as their elderly neighbor dies.

The son of a career diplomat, the actor explains how being a theater geek helped him acclimate to new schools every few years — and details how he channeled his father while playing White House Counsel Oliver Babish on Aaron Sorkin's drama The West Wing. Platt currently stars in Nicole Holofcener's film Please Give.

No One Knows about Persian Cats, which won the Special Jury Prize at last year's Cannes Film Festival, has now opened in theaters across the U.S. Critic John Powers says that Bahman Ghobadi's film — about outlaw musicians in Iran — is a reminder of the liberating potential of rock.

Dede Allen — who worked on The Hustler and Bonnie and Clyde — died this week. In 1967, Allen became the first film editor — male or female — to receive sole credit on a movie for her work. Her rapid cutting style changed the way movies were seen and heard in the theater. Today, Fresh Air remembers Allen with interview highlights from 2000.

Portions of this interview originally aired Nov. 21, 2000

Bette Gordon's drama stars Jamey Sheridan as a broken man trying to make amends for a terrible crime he helped commit 33 years ago. Critic David Edelstein says Sheridan — along with co-stars Steve Buscemi and Aidan Quinn — are beyond praise in this dark and moving revenge story.

Exit Through the Gift Shop is the sardonic title of a new art-world documentary about street artists whose renegade work has ended up selling for lot and lots of money. The credited director is the renowned English street artist "Banksy," whose true identity is a matter of much conjecture. Critic David Edelstein says that even if doubts about its authenticity linger, it's a wonderful, often hilarious film.