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After peaking with his brilliant Lone Star, in 1996, John Sayles has been turning out policy reports rather than motion pictures, well-rounded liberal looks at some of the significant issues of the day. The subject of his latest mild-mannered screed is the Third World trade in infants adopted by infertile American women, and as usual, he’s got a character covering every point of view and a first-rate actor in every role. Such as Rita Moreno as Señora Múñoz, who runs the title establishment, a kind of luxury hotel south of the border where rich Yanqui women can hang out by the pool and shop until the lengthy paperwork of adoption is worked out. A metaphor for American imperialism, no doubt, and in case you don’t get it, Múñoz’s alcoholic son will explain it before he passes out, being himself a metaphor for the dissipated revolutionary spirit. Then we have six representative mothers-to-be: Skipper (a stunning Daryl Hannah), a health freak into aerobics and Reiki and being aloof; Jennifer (Maggie Gyllenhaal), who’s being pushed into adopting by her wealthy patriarchal husband; Eileen (Susan Lynch), a working-class Irish émigrée who wants a kid because it’s an Irish thing to do; Leslie (Lili Taylor, here playing Thelma Ritter), a possible lesbian from New York who wants a kid because it’s a lesbian thing to do; Gayle (Mary Steenburgen), a salt-of-the-earth type with a drinking problem; and Nan (Marcia Gay Harden), the wicked stepmother of the group. On the native side we have various well-intended stereotypes. A couple of performances and quirky twists almost lift Casa above its bland good intentions, but otherwise this is a house of placards. (95 minutes)
BY PETER KEOUGH
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