Rating: 
Summary: Amazing Movie
Review: This is defiantly one of the bes movies of the year.
The performances by Tom Wilkenson, Sissy Spacek, and Marissa Tomei were simply amazing.
In The Bedroom was nominated for 5 academy awards includin actor(wilkenson),actress (spacek), supporting actress(tomei) adapted screenplay and most importantely Best Picture.
If you want to see a good movie with great performances, see "IN THE BEDROOM" right away!!!
Rating:
Summary: Look beyond the ending
Review: When I saw this movie, at the very end there were a lot of people who said in so many words, "Is that it?" They couldn't believe that they were going to be expected to think through this movie and provide their own "ending". And yet, for me, that's what makes this movie so overwhelming and powerful. I, for one, was glad that the ending didn't wrap things up neatly. Instead, it came across to me as if the end of the movie was, in reality, only the beginning. What this couple chose to do in response to the horrible tragedy that befell them was, in effect, to set in motion all kinds of "endings" that the viewer is completely free to imagine. One thing is for certain: they didn't live happily ever after! When one gives in to violence, then one can expect that violence will be the end-result; to live by the sword is to die by the sword! You may be one who likes movies to end cleanly, i.e., with the result given to you. But if you like to think, to ponder, to reflect on the very nature of the human condition, then this film is for you! I'm only sorry that the Academy didn't see it as did I; all the actors, the director, and the producer deserved Oscars for their efforts. This film will stick in my mind for years to come, so much so that it will be one of only a handful that I will purchase on video of DVD for my collection. Please, see it!
Rating:
Summary: In the Bedroom should have gotten the Oscar!!
Review: In the Bedroom is the most haunting, intimate film I have seen in many years. Todd Field is an incredible directing talent - the film would have more than deserved EVERY Oscar it was nominated for. It is a true shame that it didn't get a single one. This film is so infinitely much better than Beautiful Mind! No comparison! What a shame that Good Machine has been sold now. I hope they will continue to make precious movies such as this one.
Rating: 
Summary: Suggests the Works Of Bergman and Herzog
Review: in the bedroom is boring there are no guns in it. Well, there are, but not enough. it wasnt funny either it should have had lots of laughs. everyone is talking i was thinking where are the explosions, guns. more people should have died. its too quiet. i cant believe this was nominated for oscar and rollerball wasn't. i know that wasn't released in 2001 but black knight or double take should have they were funny and had action. this is a bunch of [junk] dont see it.
Rating: 
Summary: Movie that runs like a book.
Review: People that hated this movie said it went nowhere. I know some folks that walked out of it. I enjoyed it. The scenes were set up well and objects needed to be noted for their place and their symbolism. The acting was tremendous as well as the realism of the characters. The movie captures the helpless feeling that one might get in the situation of losing your son, and the silent ending of a marriage. If you are a fan of Mr. Dubus and his writing you will like this movie. (or DVD)Set in Maine, the rural aspect, scenery as well as people is an enjoyable and important side note.
Rating:
Summary: Sissy Spacek...one of the greatest actors ever
Review: I knew this movie and Sissy Spacek's performance were going to remain with me for years to come early on in the film. After their son has been killed, Sissy is sitting on the couch smoking a cigarette and her husband comes in full of false happiness talking about what a great day he has had. Under her breath, she says "I've had a great day thank you for asking" but the heartbreak on her face is overwhelming. The movie had me from that moment on....from the raging scene between Sissy and Tom Wilkinson and that staggering slap when Marissa Tomei comes to apologize. Thank you for this amazing performance, Sissy.
Rating:
Summary: It changes you...
Review: ...I have never felt so shaken and stirred by a film since Requiem for a Dream last year. In the Bedroom is a truly amazing film experience. It is a movie that shows what emotions families and parents go through together when they lose someone very close to them. If you have yet to see this splendid picture, then I recommend stop reading this review,...see the movie, and thank me later. This movie has basically everything that a masterpiece requires - excellent acting, fantastic first-time direction, a true-to-life and realistic script that deals with many emotions parents and married couples go through, some awesome visual choices, fine character development and a good moral and message - but I won't tell you what it is because it might spoil the film's amazing and unpredictable finale for you. I think the performances in this movie are what make the movie such a riveting, raw and real treat in cinema. Sissy Spacek is very good, but I don't consider her the best actress or performer of the year. Her performance was still very touching and complex, and I appreciated her performance. Nick Stahl was hardly in the movie but I really enjoy his acting, and consider him to be one of the most underrated young actors working today. Marisa Tomei is Oscar-worthy and I thought she was nothing less than incredible as the character who everyone else seems to revolve around. However, at the end of the day Tom Wilkinson really steals the show. He has proved to me that he can do any genre and do it good (he was also in The Full Monty). He was a terrific leading man and he gives what I think is probably the best performance of 2001. There's also good performances from Tom Cruise's cousin William Mapother and Celia Weston, who touched me with a particular scene at a camp. The screenplay for In the Bedroom was nothing short of spectacular. While showing the events and many obstacles mothers and fathers come across when losing a son or daughter in the drama category, the movie's script is also very thrilling and tense. I had to remind myself to keep breathing at times. There is also some very powerful dialogue in here, and there is one masterful scene in Wilkinson and Spacek finally talk about their feelings, and not in a calm style either. This is a wonderfully written and presented film, and the writing deserves a lot of recognition for having guts to go nowhere were any other film has gone before. The moments of silence in the film also add to the tense and atmosphere of the picture. I also noticed the movie had a continuous eerie musical sound to it, and the score was very suitable for the movie. The cinematography for the film is also to be noted as some of the best camera-work of 2001. The camera tricks are hardly noticeable but it's the fact that the director has the camera very still and non-visceral, but let's face it, this isn't exactly the happiest or cheeriest movie you'll see. One of the most powerful pictures I've come across in my film viewing time, In the Bedroom is not a movie I hesitate to call a masterpiece. Many will be disappointed with its length and sometimes annoying repetitive black-out's, but I think it was all needed to showcase the feel and message this brand spankin' new filmmaker wanted to get across...MY GRADE: A+
Rating: 
Summary: Highly Over-rated (A Contrary View)
Review: Those who find profound the symbolism of a man (Tom Wilkinson), whose son's death has finally been avenged, removing a small bandage from his finger to reveal a cut has been healed will no doubt love "In The Bedroom". Others will likely find the film -- despite the excellent acting and cinematography -- padded, pretentious, and at times even straining credibility, as when the young lovers (Marisa Tomei and Nick Stahl) are confronted yet again by the ex-husband (William Mapother) who has repeatedly demonstrated his violent tendencies. They neither call the police or make sure all entrances to the house are secure. The movie loses a certain validity at this (early) point, and the slow-moving, drawn-out story of the aftermath that follows isn't compelling enough to make up for it. Whole scenes could have been removed, and others tightened, without affecting the story, perhaps allowing space for another story-line which would have added depth and dimension to the piece. As is, it would have worked better as a short film -- not surprising as it is based on short story, and filmed documentary style. Dysfunctional family movies seem popular these days, particularly those that document the decline of the American middle class. But this movie doesn't delve into the causes of the transformation, much less suggest any solutions. Not that it doesn't contain some good insights -- such as the father's desire to live through his son and have the beautiful young woman by proxy to make up for never having been able to have someone like her, even when he was young. This isn't a bad movie. Certainly the acting, especially by Sissy Spacek as the distraught wife and mother, is superb. But it doesn't deserve the massive accolades it's received. The release was perfectly timed so it would be fresh on the minds of critics and Academy voters, yet it will likely soon be forgotten, not revisited regularly over the years as truly great movies are.
Rating:
Summary: a great film
Review: In the Bedroom has the ability to remind us of our own humanity- of the way the lives we lead are held togethor by a thin strand that is always on the verge of breaking. Spacek, Wilkinson and Tomei are unforgettable in their prospective roles, playing people who are all on the verge of breaking through (and breaking down). Spacek and Wilkinson play a happily (or so they think) married couple who, after facing a horrifying tragedy, find themselves reawakening and revaluating their lives, leading them to eventually committ murder. They are always sympathetic, and we understand (and accept) why they do what they do. Forget about Halle Barry- Spacek was the true "best actress" of the year, displaying her talent for play multi-faceted and deeply intriguing characters, and Wilkinson is brilliant in what should be a breakthrough for his career. The director, Todd Field, is someone to look out for- a great actor and director who knows how to make a non-prententious, multi-layered drama.
Rating:
Summary: A TV viewers' movie
Review: Minority opinion. Why is this a TV viewers' movie? Because every shot says one thing, says it clearly, and says nothing else if it can avoid it. It's as if each scene were drawn in crayon. A TV image has less detail than a 3-cent stamp, so its only duty is to get the message out. The sound matches, so its duty is to be good and clear, and forget realism. Audience attention is shared with the Twinkies, the dog and Debbie Sue who's always on the phone. So, let's not try to walk and chew gum at the same time. By contrast, a film is meant for an audience of people who give it their full attention, who can scan the whole screen while each scene runs and generate their own feelings according to their own experience, who can react to minor elements in the sound as they would in real life, and who can likewise take in characters onscreen the way they take in living people. In The Bedroom is built from shots where you can't feel where you are, how old things are, how's the light, what's the time of day, how warm it is - unless that's the purpose of the shot. The acting is delivered with accents that are pure North Hollywood, not northern Maine, and the diction is always good and clear. There is no sound except what you're meant to notice, no atmosphere. Instead, there is double-underline music where "appropriate". Worst of all is the acting and direction. Almost everything is played walk-on style, as in As The World Turns. You mostly don't feel that the characters were doing something before the shot, that they will go on doing it after the shot or that they do what they do during the shot from their own inclination, not because they're paid to keep to the script. Of all the cast, Sissy Spacek gets my nomination for Best Leading Dead Fish, providing a perfect illustration of "going through the motions". By contrast, the Bad Guy, William Mapother, manages to transcend both the direction and the script. You *feel* that, yes, his character is acting from his own inclination, has been doing it for years and will go on the same way once the shot is over. Playing his ex-wife, Marisa Tomei puts in a valiant effort too. Playing her lover, Nick Stahl perhaps tries hard too, but he's swamped by the Dick-and-Jane script and framing he's handed. As for the story - pure tribalism. Establish Fifth Commandment Transgression scene by stagy scene in first part. Reach First Second Amendment Rite (Bad Guy shoots Young Good Guy dead). Muddle through second part (Bad Guy goes out on bail and moves to another town). Reach Second Second Amendment Rite (Old Good Guy Stand-in for Average Joe shoots Bad Guy very dead). (Less than one ten-thousandth of the US gun deaths that year, in case you wonder.) Real men, almost up to NYPD Blue standards. What about a counter-example? The Man Who Wasn't There, which works around the same themes. By the criteria above, this is a film, not a TV play writ large. I get the impression people react to this movie the way the movie *tells* them to react, which is pretty much what I blame it for. But, if you can believe a parish priest in a Maine fishing village, past sixty, sporting a blow-dried hairdo, and if you can believe Sissy Spacek's nose job, then you might like the movie, I don't know.
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