In the Bedroom

Rating:
Summary: Slow Pacing
Review: I forced myself to watch this movie all the way to the end and even had to convince my husband that I should keep watching as he was quite ready to put in another movie and be done with it.

Of course, they make you want to see the ending and so you are dragged through the depression and loss for what seems like hours until you finally see the conclusion which is not even shocking. In fact, the murder is not even shocking to begin with. How hard was it to figure out that an abusive husband would go after his wife's lover?

Frankly, this movie felt "dead" to me in the emotional sense. And yet, it was also very "realistic" in the way it was filmed. Just, no one bothered to connect the two in some magical way.

What they have actually done is created a conundrum of sorts and this becomes the final question. You are left with more questions than answers. Was this the point? Is one murder right and one wrong? I see both as wrong. However, you might not be so sure.

While the "idea for the movie" is tragic, the actors seem disconnected from the actual story. I could not feel their emotions, connect with their pain. I felt nothing. What an absolute contrast to the movie IRIS which is also about loss, yet so well presented, you almost cry the entire time. Being depressed is quite different than being truly moved to tears by great beauty.

In a story as tragic as this, I should have felt the emotions, traveled along the journey of loss and love and life and ......here I sit, feeling nothing at all.

That to me is a tragedy in itself.

This movie is disconnected in so many ways. The filming also seems too "realistic" to capture the attention. It stops and starts with annoying black-outs, there is no flow.

At times you feel that important parts of the story have been removed and it is like a puzzle that was put back together with a few pieces missing here and there. Otherwise this plot is way too simple.

Moments of suspense? Hardly. Stopping at a bridge twice, once when leaving the scene of a murder simply prolonged the movie and didn't provide any suspense.

What you basically have is a family living in Camden, Maine. Matt and Ruth Fowler have one son who is killed by his girlfriend's ex? husband.

The fact that Frank's father suddenly turns into a murdered after accusing his wife of not being forgiving shows a certain shallowness in the plot and script. How did he go from being the calm, loving husband to the revengeful father?

If you enjoyed American Beauty, I have the feeling you will enjoy this movie. The "killing" is equally disturbing in both movies. Cold, Callus and Contrived.

Only watch this movie if you want to be depressed for
the rest of the evening.

Not recommended!

Rating:
Summary: Not so close to the heart
Review: In short,In The Bedromm is no more than a tale of our "Death Penalty" debates within a society that has gone insane with violence, a society that has sought war with every other in the globe but has not been able to come to terms with its own foes. This is the story of the psychopathic parent and the good citizen's kid that get slained by an attack of violence over family (and this could be interpreted as anything), that could be caused by jealousy,lack of patriotic power, or just plain balls. The movie really fails to tell how the woman got to be the wonderful screw that she is, to attract such a good "blood" boy and how the good blood is so good for who he is,whether this be caring, loving or just plain pathetic, because in real life anyone who has kids by someone else "has been around the block" and neither you or I would want them unless there was a very good reason. More than that, the creative (educated) parents should not miss that, because after all if all of us got to have the same kind of freedom there would be many more kids with real integrity and many more newborns with parents and more peace around this world. The grief and everything else that comes after, is just occupational hazard's sake for the movie's sucessful plot. I don't care what Bob Dole says, the death penalty is not something our government should have a right to enforce or a say to voice over, and citizens must be able to govern their own children, to the point of giving them emotional feedback to distinguish what is too dangerous for them and what is relatively safe to put up with, to be able to really fight for what they want and to quit what they must. The fact of the matter is that there are alot of good mothers out there who don't get a second chance with anyone because they have kids from another man and when the man decides to come back and be a father to his offspring then all hell must be bent solely for that cause, but yet can't be the same for the woman because she must be either a whore or a simple slut. "In The Bedroom" is naive about its own consequences, which are those of sacrifice and those of murder.

Rating:
Summary: WOW! What an incredible movie
Review: This movie was not what I expected I only saw it because #1 I love Sissy Spacek #2 wanted to see why it warranted so many Academy Award nominations and #3 Wanted to see if Sissy did a better performance than Halle Barry did in "Monster's Ball".
I walked away with a new found respect and interest in actor Tom Wilkinson.......... He did an EXCELLENT job as the father fully convincing for me, Sissy's performance was good too, but I have to say I think Halle did deserve the Oscar between the 2, Marisa Tomei didn't have that big of a role after a point in the movie but what scenes she was in was pretty, but nothing PROFOUND.

This movie had the writing on the wall from the very beginning you knew it was not going to be some uplifting tale. The atmosphere and setting was PERFECT.. Maine was beautiful, calm and peaceful to set the tone of a lifestyle that this young man had grown up in. A Father (who is the town Doctor)that loved him and a Mother (who was the local high school music teacher) both seeming to be understanding that there son was involved with a Older woman with 2 children, although it is evident that Sissy Spacek does not approve of this relationship.

I never really did understand if Marisa was divorced already or in the process of one with her (ex?)husband. I don't want to go into to much detail on the plot because I sometimes think you enjoy a movie more when you don't know WHAT to expect. The grieving in this movie is intense and very real, the frustrations are tangible. The Director did a INCREDIBLE job with letting you feel the emotions to EVERYONE in this movie not just the principal people I mean I KNEW how the friends felt, the nurse at the Doctors office I think that everyone did such a great job in this movie that it rates right up there with some of the best I've ever seen.

Beware it does get to a point where it slows down but don't give up on it, you never really know just how much time passes between the death and the end of the movie, but by the time the credits roll it all fits in very well.

Respectfully Reviewed

Rating:
Summary: Haunting movie
Review: This movie is one of the most heartbreaking depictions of the agony of losing a child to a brutal murder.Sissy Spacek and Tom Wilkinson are just amazing as the parents torn apart by grief and anguish at the loss of their son.The justice system in the movie,as in real life,are more concerned about the rights of the accused then the victims of crime.Some have critisized that the pace is too slow but I think it's perfect for this movie.It's so realistic to see the parents struggle and suffer ever day.This isn't the time of movie to just get a few cheap thrills.This movie stays with you and really makes you think.

Rating:
Summary: Never Hits A False Note
Review: The people I've known who lost a child at this late teen age never seem to recover from the event. Often their lives do unravel and this is all the more true if the death was a violent one like the murder in this film. Catching every nuance perfectly, "In The Bedroom" portrays the anguish of one middle aged couple. That they are mostly quiet about it is all the more telling and accurate. We also see the events leading up to the murder. The couple's son has been having a short term affair with an older woman who is going through a divorce. Her soon-to-be ex-husband, played ably by Tom Cruise's real life cousin, William Mapother, can't handle their affair and explodes into violence. This is also completely believable and Mapother doesn't make him a complete monster but, instead, someone we all know who spirals out of control while going through a divorce. Wilkinson and Spacek both shine throughout as the middle-aged couple. Watch especially Wilkinson's scenes as the film roars to a close. They are very quiet and low-key yet the effect is electric. He can make you believe he's on fire just by the simple act of facing the dawn of a new day as he gets up to go to work.

Rating:
Summary: A very painful movie to watch
Review: Yes, there were less words...more action. Each sigh, each look, each blink were full of meaning...of anguish...of loss. That's how the Fowler's felt & their inability to communicate with each other, coupled with the fear that their son's killer will not serve in jail as long as they think he should, hampered their ability to move forward. The scenes in the (various) rooms reflected how degenerating their relationship was with each other, & likewise, with their own selves...But I would like to believe that the healing of Matt's wound (which was more or less inflicted immediately after his son's death)signified his (if not both of them) own healing inside.

Rating:
Summary: "No words, yet so loud"
Review: This is amongst the most quietly intense films one is ever likely to see. Forget about plot and storytelling. The attractions here are as un-Hollywood as one can get. It uses ,instead, the power of silent suggestion to evoke a response from the viewer. Each gesture, each look, each gaze displayed by the pricipal actors, is pregnant with meaning. I disagree with those who say that the film challenges your intellect. The performances, the cinamatography, the script, they are all geared towards eliciting an intuitive, not an intellectual response. The photography in this film is not often remarked upon, but I think each frame of the house interior is a perfectly composed picture of American domesticity. The visuals do not exist for their own sake; often they suggest emotional desolation and solitude. One particular technique simply blew me away: sometimes the screen fades into utter blackness, lasting just a little too long than is common in movies, which is a simple but effective way making us feel the emptiness the characters feel. The movie, then, is very much like a painting; it leaves a lot for your imagination, it suggests rather than shows, it demands complete attention. The whole tenor of the movie is perfectly encapsulated in a line by Sissy Spacek's character: "No words, yet so loud"...

Rating:
Summary: Some movies comes out of the rectum
Review: And that is one of them.
But I still try to understand how THIS can get any award. How can we criticize a movie that was created from nothing? No point, No interest, slow.
"In the bedroom", you won't have time to count sheeps, you will already be falling asleep .... dead....
I recommand this movie to all that have sleeping disorder.
Enjoy the movie!!!

(If I could, I would have given NO star... )

Rating:
Summary: There is no escape
Review: Someone on these pages wrote that we (people) go to movies as "escapism". well, let's leave it to each and one of us to decide.However, this definitely is not a movie for this kind of approach to life. Capability for the full spectrum of emotions actually is very positive. As some say, there is healing in suffering. And there is no escape from pain, suffering, jealousy, rage, death, loss, love, birth, beauty, hope, resolve, mistakes....And this film is about it. It does not give answers and is not supposed to give.
Beautiful camerawork, great directing and great actor work. Among the best films of 2001.

Btw: THAT twist of plot was truly remarkable.

Rating:
Summary: On and On and On............
Review: I'm a fan of most of the actors in this movie. They great actors but they cannot save this BORING script. The plot is up in the first hour, but unfortunately there is still 70 minutes of the movie to go. There's alot of blank staring into space, regression to 'bad' habits such as smoking and drinking because the characters don't know what to do with themselves. Some might say, well that's the point. They are disoriented. Well, that's fine, but not for 70 minutes. I call that BORING and it goes On and On and On and On.....

To paraphase another reveiw I read: "ZZZ...".