Movie Review "Deep in my Heart" - Michelle S. Hills

Reviewer :

Michelle S. Hills Adult adoptee

CBS' airing of "Deep In My Heart," the story of a biracial daughter searching and finding her birthmother while coping with the ups and downs of being an adoptee, was the most gut wrenching Sunday Night Movie this reviewer has ever watched.

The plot presented each character's sense of joy during their respective reunions, while adequately demonstrating the pain that adoption causes all members of the triad prior to "finding." The stigma that still surrounds adoption was especially apparent in the twin brother's reaction to his sister's announcement that she had been raped and had given her child up for adoption.

The method indicating the passage of time — from the time the adoptee decided to search, to the research she conducted, to the time when she actually found her birthmother — however, was weak in this reviewer's opinion. In most adoption cases, such research is not completed with one or two visits to the computer, and adoption files are not released freely without court appearances and/or petitions. In addition, relatives of those being sought are rarely as helpful as the twin brother was when writing down the adoptee's name/number. It was difficult to discern if the adoptee's search had taken her days, months, or years.

The "happy ending format" was typical for closure of a made-for-tv movie. By choosing this type of an ending, however, the truth remains cloudy to those who do not have firsthand knowledge of being in a triad. Many triad members are not reunited due to an individual's wishing to leave the past in the past (primarily birthparents and adoptive parents) and/or refusing to speak or meet with their respective relatives (typically adopted adult children and birthchildren).

It also did not do justice to the fear of abandonment issues that adoptive parents sometimes go through upon learning that their adult adopted son/daughter has sought out their birthparents.

Nevertheless, "Deep In My Heart," was educational for non-adopted viewers because it tackled a very difficult topic in a clear and tactful manner. I would recommend it as an instructional tool if supporting documentation were provided.

Michelle S. Hills [birthname: Krista M. Brannan]
Macon, GA
Female Adoptee — CA, 1968

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