In the 2004 mystery film Birth, the presence of Anna’s deceased husband, Sean, is barely established. His figure only appears briefly in a jog through Central Park before collapsing from a fatal heart attack, while his voice is heard speaking only once, expressing disbelief in the concept of reincarnation.
This absence of Sean’s character emphasizes how Anna, played by Nicole Kidman, failed to fully understand him while he was alive. Despite her grief after his death, Anna never truly knew her husband. This lack of knowledge is mirrored when the young boy claims to be Sean reincarnated.
Anna never truly knew her husband, and now a boy claims to fill the void (Photo: Birth/New Line Cinema, Fine Line Features, Lou Yi Inc. and Academy Films)He begins to reveal intimate family details, further complicating Anna’s perception of her late spouse. Her ignorance of Sean’s true character during their marriage becomes more apparent as the plot plays out.
Anna’s Illusion of Her Marriage
The discovery of an affair between Sean and his sister-in-law Clara adds another layer to Anna’s distorted view of her marriage. Clara confronts the boy, claiming that if he were truly Sean, he would have come to her first. This revelation shatters Anna’s idealized version of her husband and their relationship.
Her perception of their marriage was an illusion, one that young Sean exploits to further entrench her in her fantasy. The affair shows that Anna was unaware of the truth about her husband’s actions, and the boy’s insistence that he is Sean serves only to reinforce Anna’s delusion.
Rather than confronting the painful truths about her marriage, Anna clings to a fabricated memory of the man she thought she knew.
The Boy’s True Belief in His Identity
Young Sean’s beliefs are not mere manipulation; he genuinely believes he is Anna’s late husband. After finding love letters Anna wrote to Sean, the boy assumes that the intimate details he knows about her life are proof of his past life as her husband.
This misunderstanding highlights the boy’s deep emotional attachment to Anna. However, his belief is complicated by the fact that he learns of the affair between Sean and Clara, which leads him to question whether Sean truly loved Anna.
The irony is that young Sean’s genuine feelings for Anna make it clear that he cannot be her husband, as who did not love her in the same way. The boy’s declaration, “I’m not Sean because I love you,” underscores the painful irony of his position.
Anna’s Inability to Let Go of the Past
Anna’s inability to move on from Sean’s death is evident in her interactions with her fiancé, Joseph. Despite their engagement, Anna’s emotional attachment to her late husband keeps her from fully embracing her new life.
The boy’s disturbing knowledge unravels Anna’s perfect memory of her marriage (Photo: Birth/New Line Cinema, Fine Line Features, Lou Yi Inc. and Academy Films)She confesses to Sean’s brother and his wife that she hasn’t been able to let go of Sean, even after all this time. Her fixation on the past, including her idealized memories of Sean, prevents her from forming a real connection with Joseph.
The boy, claiming to be Sean, becomes a symbol of Anna’s desperate need to hold on to a past that no longer exists. Her fantasy of reuniting with Sean is driven by her desire to relive a perfect version of her life with him, not the flawed reality that it once was.
The Heartbreaking Final Scene
The film’s concluding scene is emotionally devastating as Anna, still dressed in her wedding gown after marrying Joseph, steps into the sea, unable to relinquish the memory of Sean. This visual captures the depth of her inability to move forward, her emotional entanglement with the past leaving her in a state of anguish.
Even after marrying Joseph, Anna’s unresolved grief over her late husband leads her to seek solace in the past, forever clinging to an idealized version of the life she once had. The sea represents both her emotional turmoil and her attempt to escape the grip of Sean’s memory, but she cannot let go.
