Rating: 
Summary: Excellent dramatic film
Review: In the Bedroom is one of the absolute best dramatic films I have seen in a looong time. The story begins with the love affair between a college student home for the summer, Frank, and his older, not-yet-divorced, mother of two girlfriend, Natalie. Overshadowing their affair is the disapproval of Frank's parents and the violent jealousy of Natalie's husband.The affair comes to a tragic end when Natalie's husband shoot's Frank dead in a fit of jealous rage. The film then switches to Frank's parents. We witness how the loss of their child, especially in such a sudden, violent way, threatens to tear their marriage apart. We see them struggling to come to terms, to blame each other, to not blame each other, to get justice for their son, and to try appearing normal the whole time. This movie is not a thriller or a romance. In the Bedroom is pure, psychological drama. The story progresses very slowly, but remains fully compelling. The director's use of long pauses, silences, and hollow sound bring the characters and their emotion right to the viewers' face. There is little background music. Instead, the movie is filled with those loud, pregnant silences that seem to mark tragedy in all our lives. If you like old movies, you may enjoy this film. If you enjoy superb acting and a total lack of gimmicky plot twists, you will love this film. I certainly did. The only reason that I didn't give this 5 stars was that there was a total lack of extras on the DVD. I would love to have seen some commentaries from the director and the actors, some behind the scenes footage would have been nice, too. The DVD didn't even include a trailer of the movie (something that I like to watch before the movie to relax and set the tone for movie watching).
Rating: 
Summary: A great film, deserving of a better DVD release!
Review: Todd Field's haunting, exquisite film contains two of the year's most extraordinary performances--Tom Wilkinson, who should have won the Oscar for this role, paints a heartbreaking portrait of anguish which moves him securely into the ranks of the finest actors working in films today. He is magnigicent. And he is nearly matched by Sissy Spacek's superb, understated work. This is a film which should be seen, even in this bonus-free DVD release. This DVD contains no special features, not even the film's trailer(s)! A commentary, or even a short "making of" featurette with the director and the actors would have been fascinating, for sure. One can only hope for a later release containing these bonuses, but why not wait to release it with a few extras?
Rating:
Summary: why was it called "in the bedroom?"
Review: I enjoyed the movie, but the title was wrong. I would like to know how the title came about. This is a film that any adult can enjoy. I kept waiting for more to happen, but the ending was worth the wait. I don't want to spoil the ending, so I'll go now...LOL
Rating:
Summary: Great Film, but DVD Without Any Special Features!!!
Review: In my opinion, this film should have taken home the Best Picture Oscar instead of the syrupy and falsified biopic, "The Beautiful Mind". As other reviewers noted, the pacing might seem slow, but it's thoroughly involving. The family dynamics and psychological drama amongst the family members are real and harrowing. ... The film revolves around this death, and the resolution to this conflict is satisfactory, yet haunting and realistic. This is a film in the vein of "Sweet Hereafter", the excellent Egoyan film of a few years back. Very well crafted in a spare, minimalistic way. The Dubus short story the film is based on is expanded and improved upon. Acting is subtle and great all around. Sissy Spacek got the Oscar nomination, and deservedly so, but Tom Wilkinson's empathetic performance carries the film. Great filmmaking all around. The disc itself, not the film, is a big disappointment. No commentaries, special features. Perhaps a collector's edition is in the works?
Rating:
Summary: Emotionally charged and fantasically performed film!
Review: In The Bedroom is a film that may not be for everyone. It is a drama that hinges on real emotions of real people. Today, it seems people want explosions, films written with foul language as a basis of the text, and CGI effects. This film is smarter than any of that. Nick Stahl (who is amazingly refreshing and believable), a young college student home for the summer, is dating Marisa Tomei, a "divored" older woman with two young sons. Nick claims the relationhsip isn't serious, but both his parents (Tom Wilkinson and Sissy Spacek) know otherwise. The girlfriend's ex-husband doesn't want to let her go and he does what he can to push she and the student apart. I will not tell more of the plot as it could ruin the film for you. However, I will say that the title refers not to a sexual relationship, as such, but rather an expression that... two males "in the bedroom" with one female leads to competition. What that competition is and does is the subject of this film. Tom Wilkinson so easily slips into the skin of his character that you will believe that he is playing himself. This is a real man and you know it. Spacek goes beyond anything she's done since "Coal Miner's Daughter" and delivers a triumphant performance. In the Bedroom does have its faults though. It's slow. It's often quite slow. I really felt like it could have used some more heavy handed editing. And the editing itself is often disconcerting. It seems to jump and to be choppy as if the editor were experimenting with a new tool while he did his job. On the whole the film is really amazing and well written. As somone who is sick to death of the free flowing cursing and sex in the majority of Hollywood's films, this was refreshing. It wasn't immune to cursing, but it was certainly not obtrusive. Also, there was absolutley no nudity and yet the same "feeling" was delivered. I commend the director, writer and cast for delivering a really marvelous film that tells a really great story and does it with elegance and reserve rather than heavy handed pandering to the desires of 13 year olds.
Rating: 
Summary: Love hurts
Review: Adapted from the late Andre Dubus' Killings, the storyline isn't exactly foreign but it's Todd Field's superb direction and the stellar cast that brought the movie to live. Deliberately slow pace, it's precisely how Todd Field was able to bring out the characters' emotions in the film.
The tragic death of the Fowler's son left both of them in a broken state. While Matt Fowler pretends that nothing has happened, his wife is grieving hard. Matt goes through a lot of inner struggles unknown to his wife. It was through their violent confrontation that wife played by the wonderful Sissy Spacek realized what really drove her son to his eventual and untimely death. Matt is then cast into a downward spiral when he does something with good ration.
A cautionary tale of coming to terms and reconciliation, both Wilkinson and Spacek played their roles to their best and emotions flowed. Tomei should also be commended for playing a single mother torn between her still in college lover and ex-husband.
Overall, the movie is rather slow-moving and the best scenes are sometimes those without words. Best of 2001!
Rating:
Summary: Its in the Closet!
Review: Obviously In the Bedroom is Oscar worthy because of its great performances and how its plotline almost hits home ,but on the surface it is boring and awfully dark. The film rambles a lot and many times where it stays on one camera shot more longer than we need. There is hardly any music in the background (It's like American Beauty without its strange beat).With a soap opera like story after a while you do get attracted to it.
Rating: 
Summary: way way way too long
Review: sometimes you get lucky when renting a movie that features academy award nominees, for example, requiem for a dream. i rented this movie on the same premise, that it had to have some entertainment value because the actors were nominated and had done superb work in the past. much to my surprise, this movie was slow, and that's an understatement. i watched the movie (which seemed like 5 hours long, when in reality it'a around 2) and when asked what it was about, summarized it in about 4 minutes.
Rating:
Summary: This Movie was Horrible!
Review: If you are looking for a mind stimulating and non-boring movie, then this is definately not the one you want to rent. There are only two boughts of action that each last for about 2 seconds. You could leave for an hour, come back to your movie, and still know what is going on! This movie was terrible. If you want a good drama I recommend renting an older movie like Fried Green Tomatoes. "In The Bedroom" is not worth wasting your money on!
Rating:
Summary: Rings With Honesty and Emotion
Review: An emotionally devastating film that points up just how fragile life really is, and the facility with which one's universe can be turned upside down veritably in the blink of an eye, "In the Bedroom," directed by Todd Field, is an incisive examination of the irreparable psychological damage left in the wake of a tragic event which, in a perfect world, never would have happened. And it drives home the fact that this is not a perfect world, but a very flawed world in which crime-- especially a crime of passion-- is more than just an existential concept to be pondered, but a very real part of a very real and imperfect world. It's a discourse on the unthinkable; a meditation on that single moment you so desperately want back in order to change what otherwise will be forevermore irreversible, and finally on the acceptance of a reality that in the end, is unacceptable. It's a film that explores the parameters of endurance, and seeks an answer to a question for which there is none; in it's place we find a paradox of the human condition, wherein lies a tenet irrefutably conducive to matters of the heart, and beyond any resolution of the intellect. For Ruth and Matt Fowler (Sissy Spacek, Tom Wilkinson) life is good; they have a comfortable home in a small town in Maine, where she teaches and he has a successful medical practice. Frank (Nick Stahl), their only child, is working part time as a lobster fisherman, while preparing for college in the fall. But first, there's a long, hot summer to embrace, and Frank has become involved with an "older" woman, Natalie (Marisa Tomei), the mother of two young boys. And though they are separated, Natalie is not yet divorced from her estranged husband, Richard (William Mapother), which makes for a rather tentative state of affairs-- especially in light of the fact that Richard wants Natalie and his boys back. For Ruth, her son's involvement with a married woman has become something of a bone of contention, and rightly so; there's a reason that Natalie is no longer with her husband. Add to that the fact that Ruth is afraid that Frank's infatuation with Natalie may derail his plans for college, and her concerns seem entirely valid. Matt, however, though concerned about the situation as well, feels Ruth is being overly cautious on Frank's behalf. His attitude quickly changes, though, when subsequent events transpire that not only vindicate Ruth's worst fears, but take them all past a point of no return. And for the Fowlers, life will never again be the same. Todd Field co-wrote this Oscar nominated screenplay with Robert Festinger (adapted from the story by Andre Dubus), and he goes on to deliver a pensive film that is visually poetic and altogether involving. In the opening frames, Field establishes an idyllic setting against which he proceeds to unleash a story through which, emotionally, he achieves Everest. Setting a deliberate pace, he subtly explores each phase through which all of those involved must pass following the tragedy, with special focus on Ruth and Matt And it's a study that goes well beyond the typical rendering of a "seeking justice in an unjust world" drama. In this one, nothing is in black and white; instead, it is gray areas that prevail. Field sifts through the emotional wreckage of the those involved, contemplating the effects of the event and the psychological implications manifested in each individual's response to it. He demonstrates a keen insight into human nature, acutely capturing the confusion and that sense of disorientation, that feeling of "What do I do next?" desperation suffered by Ruth and Matt, and how it affects their relationship with one another. Again, Field finds pronounced shades of gray in the very different ways in which the couple copes with and attempts to resolve their own inner conflict and rage, and the lack of communion it engenders between the them. From the very beginning, he taps into and then maintains that kind of disconcerting tension one feels in the face of uncertainty; that fury born of the inability to resolve that which absolutely must be resolved before one can move on. It's a matter of attaining closure, and Field clearly indicates how elusive that can be, and the depths to which one must descend in order to find it. As Ruth, Sissy Spacek gives a memorable performance for which she was deservedly nominated for an Oscar for Best Actress. As embodied by Spacek, Ruth is a quietly confident and obviously domineering presence; a mother who, without question, wants only the best for her son. As the drama unfolds, Spacek delivers a portrayal steeped in ever-deepening introspection, wherein the anger for which she so desperately needs an outlet is contained and controlled. And you can feel that inner turmoil coming off of her in waves, even as she attempts to mask it by affecting an aloof manner. It's a convincing performance, extremely honest and real; one to which many in the audience are going to be able to connect and identify. Tom Wilkinson was also nominated for an Oscar for Best Actor-- and deservedly so, as this is arguably the best performance of his career-- for his portrayal of Matt. There is such a ring of truth in the way he conveys a "non-acceptant" acceptance as he seeks the resolution he so desperately needs, for himself as well as Ruth. It's a moving performance, and like Spacek's, one to which many are going to be able to relate. Also turning in an exceptional performance (also nominated for an Oscar) is Marisa Tomei. Even with less screen time, she effectively holds her own with Spacek and Wilkinson. Personal experience and frame of reference are going to have a lot to do with how "In the Bedroom" is received; but on one level or another, it is going to provide a riveting emotional experience for anyone who sees it.
|
