‘A Child of My Own’ Review: What Happens When the Desire to Become a Mother Goes Too Far?

—Surya Prakash Josyula

Rating: 2.5/5

Wanting to have children is a natural desire for any woman. But what happens when family, husband and society keep putting pressure on her? What if she keeps hearing things like, “Why can’t you become a mother?” What starts as a simple desire can slowly turn into a lie. And that lie can go so far that she ends up stealing a newborn baby.

That is the shocking true story behind Netflix’s docudrama ‘A Child of My Own’. Director Maite Alberdi does not present it as just a crime story. She also looks at the emotional, family and social pressure that pushed a woman into such an extreme situation.

What is the story about?

The film is based on a real incident that happened in Mexico in 2009. Eleonor Alejandra Marin Mendoza, also known as Ale, was 26 when the incident happened. After several miscarriages, she faced increasing pressure from her family to have a child.

She finally decided to make everyone believe that she was pregnant. She gained weight to create a baby bump and even changed her medical records. Her lie continued for months, and she managed to convince her husband, family and even doctors that she was pregnant.

But when the time came to have the baby, there was no baby.

That is when the story suddenly turns into a crime. Ale took a newborn baby from a hospital and presented the child to her husband as their own. The truth came out within hours. She was arrested and later sentenced to 13 years in prison. Her husband was also taken into custody, but he was later cleared of involvement.

From here, the film becomes more interesting because Ale’s version of the story is very different from the version told by the baby’s real mother, Mayra.

Ale says she had an agreement with Mayra to take the baby. Mayra completely denies this. She says her baby was simply stolen from the hospital.

So, who should we believe? That is something the film leaves for the viewer to decide.

Analysis

The biggest strength of this documentary is its storytelling. It does not simply say, “She committed a crime, so she is a bad person.” At the same time, it does not say, “She was under pressure, so we should feel sorry for her.”

What she did was clearly a crime. But the film also asks an important question: What pushed her to do it?

Why did she start believing that her value as a woman depended on having a child? How much did the pressure from her husband and in-laws affect her? And why did she not get proper mental health support after her miscarriages?

These are the questions the film tries to explore.

More importantly, the film questions the idea that becoming a mother is the ultimate goal of every woman’s life. A psychologist explains that Ale had started believing that becoming a mother was the only way for her to feel complete as a woman. After several miscarriages, she created a fantasy world to deal with her pain. Eventually, the line between that fantasy and reality became very thin.

However, this is also where the film has a weakness. We don’t get as much depth from Mayra’s side as we might expect. The film spends more time trying to understand Ale’s mental state. Because of this, the real mother and her pain sometimes feel pushed into the background.

Apart from that, the documentary carries a strong emotional mood throughout. At times, it feels less like a crime story and more like watching something that could have happened inside a family we know.

How is it technically?

This is not a regular documentary. The first half almost feels like a fiction film.

Soft pink, yellow and blue colours, gentle lighting and fairy-tale-like sets are used to show how Ale imagined her perfect life. The beautiful visuals are actually hiding a very dark reality.

Ana Celeste, who plays the younger Ale, is also one of the film’s strengths. She brings out the character’s innocence, fear, lies and growing tension quite well.

Later, the real Ale appears on screen. The mood suddenly changes. Real interviews, old footage and details from the case are mixed with the recreated scenes. This gives the film a different style and makes it feel like a mix of a drama and a documentary.

The runtime of around 96 minutes also works well. The film does not feel too long.

However, this style may not work for everyone. The shift from drama to documentary can sometimes feel slightly unnatural. A few parts could also have been shorter and tighter.

Plus Points
Shocking true story
Different approach to a true-crime story
Interesting pink-toned visuals and recreated scenes
Real interviews add emotional weight
Strong focus on the psychological side of the story
Minus Points
Some recreated scenes feel slightly overdone
The shift between drama and documentary can feel unnatural
The psychological angle could have been explored in greater depth
Mayra’s side of the story deserved more attention
Final Thought

After watching ‘A Child of My Own’, it doesn’t feel like we have simply watched the story of a woman who stole a baby.

What stays with us is a bigger question: How far can society’s pressure on a woman to become a mother push her?

The film does not ask us to forgive Ale. It does not make her crime look small. But it does try to understand why she reached that point.

And that is what makes this docudrama different.

If you are looking for a fast-paced true-crime thriller, this may not be the right choice. But if you like real-life stories that explore the human mind, family pressure and society, ‘A Child of My Own’ is worth watching.

Where to Watch?

‘A Child of My Own’ is streaming on Netflix. The runtime is around 1 hour 36 minutes.