Babyteeth

Anna is barely holding it together emotionally. She’s overprotective, overly clingy, and overly critical of the daughter she almost lost. The constant battle with Milla is wearing her down, and Henry has reached the point of ultimate frustration with his distant wife and starts hanging out with his very pregnant neighbor.

Babyteeth is about the relationship between these four characters—played out genuinely in heart-wrenching ways. Director Murphy brilliantly grounds the hell out of every element of the story. It’s neither a light comedy nor overdramatized Oscar-bait. No one feels like they are acting, and no situation ever feels forced by the story, even though some crazy, extreme decisions are made by its leads. It all just makes it easier to relate and empathize with the film overall.

“…about the relationship between these four characters—played out genuinely in heart-wrenching ways.”

I hesitate to share any of the scenes in fear of spoiling it. Still, there’s an amazing moment when Ben Mendelsohn’s Henry implores Davis’ Anna not to fall apart and keep it together when every fiber of her being wants to do is fall apart. Wallace’s Moses is also a fantastically understated performance (as they all are). He’s the kid you pray her daughter would never date, but you feel such great empathy for him. Moses is never portrayed as the bad boy with a heart of gold. He’s a kid that needs just one break in life to survive.

The story is broken up into chapters with simple, pithy title cards, such as “When Milla brought Moses home to meet her parents.” It’s effective as a way to jump-start a scene and dispense with unnecessary exposition. For example, another title mentions that Milla restarted her chemo treatments. With this fact entered into our brains, we move on from there and focus instantly on the drama and relationships, sans awkward dialogue like, “Mom, you know I just restarted my chemo.”

Babyteeth plays out in a familiar yet surprising way, and the ending will crush you in an unexpectedly beautiful way. See Babyteeth for its fantastic performances and an unassuming, yet compelling, story of family.