Rating: 
Summary: Complex and realistic.
Review: This is most definitely one of the best motion pictures of 2001. There are not very many Hollywood films these days that can be as brilliant and unique as IN THE BEDROOM. Most of the successful Hollywood films these days are either those romantic-comedies or the powerhouse action/adventure films with tons of awesome mind-blowing computerized special effects. But IN THE BEDROOM is a solid drama. There is hardly any comedy and definitely no computerized special effects. This is a total adult film--do not let your children see this! Strictly for the mature audiences only.I saw this film when I was in New York City recently and I am planning to go see it again once it hits theaters in my hometown area, for it was THAT good. IN THE BEDROOM is about a dysfunctional family, but it's not the crazy, hilarious family type that you see on TV shows like "Malcolm in the Middle", it's more of a dysfunctional family with serious tramatic problems. Ruth (Sissy Spacek), her husband, Matt (Tom Wilkinson), and their college student son, Frank (Nick Stahl), live in the quiet hometown of Camden, Maine. Matt only stays in the marraige with Ruth because he loves Frank deeply and Frank means everything in the world to him. Soon, Frank gets involved in an affair with a young (but, much older than him), woman named Natalie (Marisa Tomei), who's got two children and a dangerous ex-husband who soon becomes jealous of Frank and murders him in a rage; leaving Frank's parents devastated from their loss. Now, since Frank is gone, the parents have to learn to deal without him. And Matt starts wondering if his marraige to Ruth is worth anything now that Frank is gone. IN THE BEDROOM is a beautiful, but sad film. It captures your heart and captivates it. The acting by the entire cast and supporting cast is absolutely superb. The script is nothing short of brilliant. It is a very long film, but every single second of it is well-worth it. IN THE BEDROOM deserves the Oscar for Best Picture!
Rating:
Summary: The Killings
Review: It has been said that the most tragic of life events is the death of a child: Tragic in the most grotesque and Classically Greek manner because it goes against nature for a parent to out live a child.
Todd Field's "In the Bedroom" is based on the short story, "The Killings" by Andre Dubus and though this is Field's first film it is obvious that he is now a director to be reckoned with.
Field has also assembled a dream cast in Sissy Spacek (Ruth), Tom Wilkinson (Matt), Marissa Tomei (Natalie)and Nick Stahl (Frank).
Ruth and Matt and son Frank live a quiet smalltown life in Camden, Maine. Ruth is a music teacher, Matt is the town's doctor and Frank is planning to go away to college to study Design/Architecture and having a summer fling, as he describes it, with Natalie who has two children and an ex husband, Richard (William Mapother). Ruth is not particularly happy with the affair and neither is Richard...for he kills Frank in a jealous rage.
Frank's murder is the turning point of the film and the focus changes to: dealing with grief, communication or lack thereof between couples, the justice of the legal system and how, as a friend, do u console the survivors of such a horrific crime?
"In the Bedroom" also showcases the talents of the actors especially Wilkinson ("The Full Monty")as Matt,who has spent the bulk of his life married to a woman he may or may not love but whose son was the light of his life. With Frank gone, what is to become of his marriage and his life? Sissy Spacek plays Ruth very quietly: all surface repose yet seething with anger and disgust. She never hits a false note and her scene with Natalie in the high school auditorium is stunning.
"In the Bedroom" is a major triumph for all concerned. It is a serious, adult film resonating, even vibrating with achingly heartfelt emotion...which comes from real pathos by way of truthful, well-written characters and situations.
Rating: 
Summary: Trawling the riverbed
Review: This movie sticks in your head. It's that rare breed which refuses to moralize. We simply watch several tragedies unfold; however, we are brought so close to the action that it is impossible to feel uninvolved. The most talked about scene, wherein the dam of the parents' grief bursts, is shot so tightly that we feel like we are in the house with them. Little has been made of the craft of this film. It's shots have been crammed with metaphors and visual parodies. The symbolic foreshadowing is Dickensian in its subtlety and skill, and the weaving of motifs into an ever widening web is reminiscent of Wagner. There is no way to praise this film highly enough. All of the actors do outstanding work. However, the film's non-judgemental stance prevents the catharsis that would catapault it into popularity, which raises a rather old issue. "In the Bedroom" is like a trawler which brings up all the silt and muck of the riverbed, without letting the dirt settle. Sadness is compounded, and the final action is like a half cadence which only raises more issues than it resolves. Audiences have always and will always avoid art which offers no denouement, because it is too much like real life.
Rating:
Summary: Powerful drama--one of the best of 2001
Review: What would you do if your son died a violent death at the hands of a man you know? What if you yourself, a doctor whose entire life is devoted to healing, were known throughout your community as a gentle man, an upholder of civil order? This multi-layered drama poses not only this question, but several more. What happens when there's a lack of communication between close family members and a devastating event occurs? What do you do with anger that has been fomenting for many years and now finds it has no choice but to burst forth because of what has happened? This is a long movie, but the powerful emotional vortex that forms as the movie progresses pulls you into it so deeply that it is a completely riveting experience. With a script this great, it's equally great to see such powerhouse performances. Sissy Spacek is a marvel. Her character's husband, played by Tom Wilkinson, a British stage actor, is superb. Marisa Tomei is perfectly cast as the young woman who, with the older couple, are at the center of the vortex. She's brilliant. The actors who play the killer and the victim are also excellent, as are the supporting cast. This is a drama of emotional and moral choices in the extreme, and its power will stay with you LONG after the movie is over. One of the very best of 2001, and definitely deserving of several Oscar nominations.
Rating:
Summary: UNFORGETTABLE
Review: There're good films, great films and brilliant movie experiences. "Live" this disturbing "In the bedroom" and you'll feel that kind of experience. When a solid screenplay has a delicate director and a few extraordinary actors, a movie has its own "life". One only look of our marvellous Spacek deserves a thousand Oscars. I can't describe her devasting, sensitive and intelligent way to play her role....you can see her to believe it!
Rating:
Summary: A Poignant Portrayal of Grief
Review: This movie opens normally enough - a middle class family, consisting of Dr. Matt Fowler, his wife Ruth, a music teacher, and their architecture student son, is spending the son's summer vacation together. During this summer vacation, the son Frank begins dating an older woman, Natalie, estranged from her husband and raising her two sons. About forty minutes into the film, however, things go violently wrong. Frank is murdered by his girlfriend's ex-husband, and from this moment on, all normalcy leaves the film. It is also at this point, however, that the movie takes on a beautifully realized melancholy, and truly becomes the film that has received so much critical acclaim. After Frank's murder, the film centers around the grief of Dr. and Mrs. Fowler. Dr. Fowler feels, and displays, his grief quietly. Tom Wilkinsons is brilliant as the man who, while obviously grief-stricken, is still trying to get on with his ordinary life. Sissy Spacek as Mrs. Fowler is the epitome of quiet rage. She manages to infuse the simplest of acts - smoking a cigarette, watching her husband pour himself a drink - with an angry desparation that is simmering just beneath the surface. This anger is shockingly realized in a moment where Mrs. Fowler is approached by an apologetic Natalie, and slaps her brutally, only to resume her work as if nothing important has just occurred. The film was also beautifully shot. Immediately following Frank's death, rather than succumbing to the soap opera cliches of excessive crying, the melancholy is displayed through very brief vignettes that fade in and out - a sleeping Mrs. Fowler, Dr. Fowler seeing patients, mowing the lawn. They are normal enough scenes, but the blackness that surrounds them visually only echoes the blackness that surrounds them emotionally. The soundtrack is stunningly bare. Rather than try to find a musical metaphor for grief, the directors chose to leave background music to a minimum. The majority of the music in the film is the beautiful work of the chorus which Mrs. Fowler directs. Ultimately, the quiet grief and rage that Dr. and Mrs. Fowler are feeling erupts, and they express their true feelings to each other, in an attempt to place blame and make sense of this murder. When it does erupt, the film takes a final drastic, and yet fitting turn. I highly recommend this movie. I don't think it's possible to see it and not be touched by it.
Rating:
Summary: Unforgetable
Review: In the Bedroom is a movie that will stay with you. The story, acting and emotions of the film are intense and played to perfection. It tells the story of a mother ( sissy spacek) and father (frank fowler) whos son is murdered and the emotions they go through and the revenge on the man who murdered thier son. The scenes in the movie have such meaning , like the begining scene when the father tells the story about the lobsters and the scene at the end where they are driving and the ball game is on the radio. A very haunting excellent movie. One of the best in years.
Rating:
Summary: GREAT BUT TRAGIC THEMED MOVIE
Review: This film is not to be watch if you're depressed. It is a thought provoking film with remarkable character studies. I saw this when it was first released and it held me spellbound. There are a couple of unexpected scenes in the picture which shock the viewer. Spacek is magnificent and should have won the Academy Award for her performance. Tom Wilkinson is equally fine and should have won also. Marisa Tomei was also Oscar nominated but she fails to give her character the depth needed to illicit sympathy for her from the audience. She is much too old to be carrying on with a 19 year old. This would be plausible but Tomei failed to grasp the part effectively. Its Spacek's and Wilkinson's picture all the way. It is a dark, moody piece with outstanding acting all the way!
Rating:
Summary: Well - DUH-ah !!!!!
Review: If you find fault with this movie ... where's the one you made??? Very interesting movie. Different, a breath of fresh air. A movie for a thoughtful persons. I like these two-bit CRITICS who run down things from the most nit-picky, pseudo intellectual blubberings. Go post your sappy nit-pickyness to a chicken ... you Dumb Cluck ! (smile!).
Rating: 
Summary: Stay Away From The "Bedroom"!
Review: Having become a new fan of Andre Dubus's writing I rented this movie having high expectations from all the Oscar hype a few years ago.
How could this movie ever been nominated for anything? First of all the length: This story was at the most a 90 minute movie, but was dragged out to near 2 and a half hours. Watch the beginning to get the gist of the story, then FF the first 45 minutes. You won't miss a thing.
The director was trying to be artsy by subjecting us viewers to scene after scene after scene of the dead boy's parents being reminded of his former existence. Then after they kill his killer and the movie gets interesting, it's over. I really wanted to know what would happen after that. If you're having problems with insomnia, this is the cure for you!
Question: In the end titles there was a sort of In Memory of Andre Dubus III 1938-1999. I didn't know he was dead. He appeared in "House of Sand and Fog" as an actor which was filmed in the early 2000's.(???)
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