Losing Isaiah

Losing Isaiah is a 1995 American drama film starring Jessica Lange and Halle Berry, directed by Stephen Gyllenhaal. It is based on the novel of the same name by Seth Margolis. The screenplay is written by Naomi Foner Gyllenhaal. The original music score is composed by Mark Isham.

Plot
While craving her next hit, Khaila Richards (Halle Berry), an African-American crack cocaine addict, abandons her inconsolable, illegitimate infant son, Isaiah, in the dumpster. She promises to come back for him later, but then she passes out from the drugs. The next day, the infant narrowly escapes death by the garbage truck. Baby Isaiah is rushed to the hospital, where they discover that he’s also addicted to crack cocaine because of his mother taking it while she was pregnant with him. While caring for Isaiah, a social worker named Margaret Lewin (Jessica Lange) grows increasingly fond of him. Eventually she adopts Isaiah and brings him home to live with her, her husband Charles (David Strathairn) and their daughter Hannah. Meanwhile, Khaila is caught shoplifting and is sent to rehab, unaware Isaiah is still alive.

Three years later, Khaila successfully completes her treatment and confesses to her case worker that she gave birth to Isaiah and abandoned him in the alley. Without Khaila’s knowledge, the case worker investigates further and discovers that Isaiah is alive and was adopted by the Lewins. They hire a lawyer, Kadar Lewis (Samuel L. Jackson) to contest the adoption and help Khaila regain custody of Isaiah. An ugly court battle ensues, with racial issues demonstrating inadequacies on both sides. In the end, the judge makes the difficult decision to overturn the adoption and return Isaiah to Khaila’s custody, much to the Lewins' horror and sadness.

Even after weeks pass, a distraught Isaiah does not consider Khaila his mother. Although he becomes increasingly withdrawn, he is also prone to violent public outbursts. Eventually, Khaila is desperate for Isaiah's happiness, and asks Margaret to step back in "for a little while... until he can understand." However, she insists she will also continue to be involved for the foreseeable future. The two mothers embrace each other, both proclaiming their equally strong motherly love for Isaiah. The two mothers then begin together playing building blocks with their beloved boy in a classroom.

Reception
Losing Isaiah received mostly negative reviews from critics. The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported an approval rating of 45% based on 29 reviews. The site's critical consensus reads, "Losing Isaiah makes an admirable attempt to tackle complex, worthwhile themes, but loses sight of effective storytelling during a descent into melodrama."