Rating: 
Summary: A solid 3 stars. No more. No less.
Review: I place it comfortably as a 3 star movie. The first hour or so, while slow at points, was the more interesting half of the film. I liked the deliberate pace and tone of the movie at that point, and the performances were all right on the mark. I'm not sure where the film went off course for me, but it was probably around the time when Dr. Fowler decides to avenge his son's death. I agree with another reviewer who said this course of action is not believable given what we know about that character. What was an intense portrait of grief turns into a fairly rudimentary revenge drama. The film didn't leave me with any burning questions regarding the morality of that act; it just kind of left me with a blank look on my face. I think the film is a promising debut for Todd Field, but not nearly worthy of the breathless hype and praise surrounding it. But it could have been a great movie rather than a merely good one if more creativity had been applied to the film's final hour.
Rating:
Summary: In Need of a Rewrite
Review: Tom Wilkinson's sandout performance saved this movie for me. The rest of the cast is merely adequate. The problem with this film is its flimsy script. Too many abrupt shifts in point of view left me more confused than satisfied. For example, when Nick Stahl's character is killed, why did the filmmaker suddenly shift from the boy and his scuffle to the woman coming down the stairs just as the trigger is pulled so the audience wouldn't see the "murder"? This leaves a doubt for the viewer about the killer's motivation. For all I know, the gun went off accidentally, just like the defense claimed. Why would I think otherwise? This underminds the parent's noble "revenge" solution and makes them seem like cold-blooded murders, rather than justice seekers. Numerous other points of view shifts robbed the viewer of critical scenes, including the wife's complicity and her support for the revenge. Why were these left out? Also, the build up for the first "murder" didn't ring true to me. The entire threat could have been avoided if someone had simply called the police on this guy early in the story. Marisa Tomei's character could simply have filed a restraining order against the jerk at the first signs of trouble. Yeah, her character was dumb, but come on already! The fact that the cast couldn't bring themselves to dial 911 seemed contrived and made the eventual killing very predictable. Finally, the dialogue in the woods at the end was downright amateurish. When the killer is shot, apparently premature, the friend had no reason to tell the Wilkinson's character what their plan had been ... other than for the benefit of the audience. Very maid and butler. Tsk, tsk.
Rating: 
Summary: Masterpiece: Like Still Water, This Realistic Film Runs Deep
Review: I hear some (but very few) complaint about this film, which made me write this one. If you have a keen eye in picking up a good stuff, you will anyway see this masterpiece, but just in case I urge you very strongly to see "In the Bedroom" which deserves your money and time. The film is about ... what? This is exactly the point the film challenges us. It starts with a romance in one idyllic summer in Maine, full of bright sunshine and beautiful ocean. Matt Fawler, a local doctor, and Ruth Fawler, a school teacher, are spending happy time with their son Frank, who is having a love affair with a beautiful wife Natalie (who lives with her son, practically separated with her husband). It is just a summer thing, nothing serious, Frank thinks. Though his father Matt shares the view with his son, his mother sees things differently, worrying about her son's behaviors. Then, a tragedy happens. Richard, Natalie's abusing husband shows up, and during the fight between him and Frank, the latter is shot by Richard's handgun. Frank's parents, living in deep grief, know that they are no longer able to live as the way they did, but cannot speak of the fact to each other. Their wound eventually leads Matt to one decision that should rectify the past. But will it? All about the film, the title says prominently: "Bedroom" means double ways, as "trap" (as in the beginning of the film, Matt explains to his son) and of course, literarily, a bedroom where the film ends. It is the place no one can get out, nor make noise. The Fowlers, trapped in this silent room, have to lacerate each other's hearts even before the tragic event happens, and the film, instead of telling their conditions loudly, quietly shows us their loneliness. You hear often this expression, like, to "read between the lines," but this film is just the instance that requires you to do that. And to make it possible, two leading actors Tom Wilkinson and Sissy Spacek, true revelation of the film, practically become the tormented characters, displaying what these first-rate players can do at their best. Also of note is Marissa Tomei, whose career is suffering from decline since her Oscar 10 years ago, as is shown in that terrible "The Watcher." Todd Field may feel proud of extracting the best performance from those players, and he should be. The film has many virtues, but I only point out one of them, and finish my review. The film intentionally skips some crucial parts -- the gunshot in case, for example -- and allows us to take multiple views on the events it describes. The Fawlers are quite unsatisfied with the "manslaughter" verdict, which would be possibly given, and we are quite naturally take their view. But the film cleverly refuses to show the crime scene itself, making the whole situation more unstable and uncomfortable. After watching the film you might think, "Are the Fawlers really right?" Another instance is found in Ruth's claim, who says she sees Richard (who killed her son) hanging around her, torturing her, always and all over the small town. But the film shows such scenes only once. How should we take her words? Or, how should we take the last words she says to her husband in the end of the film? (This is a key place so I cannot disclose. Just watch for yourself, and think.)
"In the Bedroom" is great because it succeeds in making us feel that there are a lot of things going on outside the film. Without revealing too much, the film shows how an "ordinary" people commit something they should not do. We read many reports on newspaper everyday, telling crimes that we think not so special. But most probably, those crimes happen as the film depicts, involving many people's lives. And this subtle touch is the greatest merit of "In the Bedroom."
The film goes like "Sling Blade," which has some common territory with "In the Bedroom." They both move slowly, but with reality only the deft hands can make. If you like this Billy Bob's masterpiece, you will also be fascinated with this one, a rewarding experience for fans of any truthful drama.
Rating: 
Summary: [It was terrible]
Review: All I have to say is I couldn't even watch it to the end. I'm the type of person who HAS to watch a movie to the end to find out what happens no matter how stupid it is, and with this movie I really didn't care....it got turned off half way through. To sum it up....BAD!! Don't waste your money.
Rating:
Summary: Minimalist Masterpiece
Review: Listening to NPR the other day, I heard a writer explain
his first lesson about writing a novel: you don't include
the footnotes in the text! The director of this movie must have learned that lesson well. We are not beat over the head with an image in order to make a point. Like a Picasso, the director paints his characters with a few brushstrokes and allows the viewer to participate in his work of art. By doing so, the director of this film leaves in tact the complexity of the various characters. He does not allow us to be
self-righteous in our judgement of the characters. In the end none of the characters seems completely without fault. Due to the minimalism and the beautifully developed characters in this story I find myself wondering what has happened to the various people.
Did the father and his friend get caught? Did they feel guilt?
Weren't both killings motivated by love and therefore both equally understandable? This story doesn't leave you when the screen goes black. Really great! Thomas
Rating:
Summary: Excruciatingly tedious!
Review: Big, big disappointment. Even the most artsy-fartsy French films are usually not this belaboured, snail-like and flat. With the exception of Nick Stahl and Marisa Tomei, the main characters are not only dull and depressingly repressed but annoyingly passive and pathetic. I totally agree with one of the previous reviewers who said that this movie mistakes slow pacing with emotional depth. There are much better films that deal with complex emotional issues but do not require several shots of espresso to keep your attention.
Rating:
Summary: do not rent or buy
Review: this movie sucked. my boyfriend and i decided to rent this movie since it was up 5 times for the oscar. Boy were we wrong. we wanted to not only brake our tv, but kill each other too. it was very boring, most scenes did not involve any speech but just pointless things that waisted a lot of time. The pointof the movie i must say was alright, but it was not good for a 2 and a half hour movie. i strongly suggest you dont go buy or rent this movie!!!!!!!!
Rating:
Summary: PLEASe don't waste your time!
Review: This movie aside from being extremely BORING, this movie is super depressing beyond belief. For all the extreme rave reviews, and Oscar hype, this movie dosnt live up to it's reputation in the very least! Don't waste your time nor your money, you'll regret it if you do!
Rating:
Summary: A Superb, Emotionally Shattering Drama!
Review: It is hard to have enough good words to say regarding the level of excellence obvious in every frame of this painstakingly beautifully made drama. As is often the case these days, this work is the result of the efforts of an independent agent, showing how difficult it is to anything worthwhile done from within the confines of the Hollywood success-oriented movie-making monster. With a small budget and world-class actors, this economy-class effort shows that going in under budget doesn't necessarily lead one into mediocrity. Quite the contrary is true here. This movie shines through its poignant portrayal of a family reeling into existential crisis based on the savage murder of a family member, and deals superbly with the incredible range of emotions such an extraordinary event wreaks in its aftermath. The terrific cast includes Sissy Spacek, Tom Wilkinson, and Marisa Tomei, each of whom was deservedly nominated for an Oscar for the performances rendered here. This is a starkly realistic depiction of life in the raw, and doesn't soft-pedal any aspect of the wrenching personal experience such monumental loss tows in its wake. All the second-guessing, recriminations and pent-up regrets of a lifetime come pouring out as the characters try to piece together some workable way to go on in the face of the simultaneous feelings of heartache and anger they feel about what has happened, about what they let happen by acts of both commission and omission, about not stepping up to the meaning of events that led up to the tragedy. Anyone who has dealt with serious loss in life will relate to the film. In fact, the chief criticism I have of the film is that it is entirely too real, too angst-provoking, too intense, so that it is difficult to sit to watch in its entirety for that very fact. One finds oneself squirming in recognition of just how well-etched and carefully characterized each of the principal figures in the drama seems to be, and how the events that transpire all seem to build inescapably toward this most horrible of conclusions. We watch as the events reel into overdrive, the initial spate of shock and denial buckling inexorably under the need to find some fault, to lay some blame, to put some tangible thread of purpose, reason, or rationality underneath what at base seems to be such a totally illogical and absolutely insane act; the passionate murder of one man by another over love gone wrong. Briefly summarized, this is easily one of the most powerfully realistic and emotionally explosive movies of the last decade. It twists and plucks at your heart strings and then suddenly cuts them out with a blunt instrument, all without the benefit of anesthesia. It pulls no punches in presenting an unforgettable portrait of a family flailing desperately about in an effort to come to terms with the violent death of one of its members. It is not an easy movie to watch, but is an uncommon movie experience as it deals so honestly with the extremes of emotion associated with the anger, anguish, and loss so common to the human condition. I highly recommend it.
Rating: 
Summary: Badly written
Review: Screenwriters are always saying that it is their contribution which makes the difference between a mediocre and a good movie. In this instance they are correct. The directing is fine, the acting is superb; but the screenplay is fifth-rate, full of cliches and tired old plot moves. Those who gave this movie 5 stars were obviously not watching this movie but some other movie they were imagining. This is not a tragedy but a tiresome waste of time (and only the performances of Wilkinson and Spacek will convince you otherwise).
|
