In the Bedroom

Rating:
Summary: Human drama par excellence
Review: Once again an independent film shows that a good story, insightful directing and inspired acting can outperform the Hollywood giants with their $50 Million budgets. This film was produced for a scant $1.7 million and garnered five Oscar nominations including best picture. Writer/Director/Producer Todd Field, who has spent most of his career almost invisibly as an actor, explodes onto the scene on the other side of the camera and serves notice that he is a force to be reckoned with.

The story is powerful and poignant. It is the story of a family that is shattered by a horrible tragedy and it examines their ordeal as they come to terms with it. Field's workup is wonderfully done, giving care to assure that we understand and involve ourselves with these characters. It is a very likeable family, with down to earth people that come across like our closest friends. This makes their tragedy into our tragedy, so we easily identify with the shearing forces that shred their lives.

Field shows an extreme talent for bringing a stark realism to the screen. The characters are consistent with their development and exceedingly believable. The way he frames the shots and his choice of close-ups of inanimate objects is superb, heightening the feeling of being there. Having spent a good bit of time in New England myself, I noticed that the locations capture much of the feeling of the place. Even the sounds are more realistic than most films.

After the tragedy occurs, Field casts a suffocating pall over the film as he allows the humanness of his characters to dominate. Shock and denial are followed by seething resentment and blame. The characters are seen going robotically through the motions of their daily lives as they attempt to cope with the reality of the heartbreak that has befallen them. If there is one area where Field errs slightly, it may be here. He purposely dwells on these scenes to bring the audience to the same level of frustration and anguish as the characters, in an attempt to make us see that the final resolution is inevitable. However, his pace is overly torturous. The film bogs down and becomes repetitive during the second act, making the entire film seem much too long. However, this is more than compensated by the tense and evocative final act.

The acting is riveting. Tom Wilkinson, Sissy Spacek and Marisa Tomei were all nominated for Oscars. December seems to be a lucky month for birthdays in this film, since all four of the leads were born in that month (Wilkinson, 12/12, Spacek, 12/25, Tomei, 12/4 and Stahl, 12/5).

Wilkinson ("The Full Monty", "Shakespeare in Love", "The Patriot") emerges from the shadow of supporting roles with a compelling performance in the lead. His sincerity and believability endow his character with an amiable nature. His anger and grief is contained, yet while he appears impassive, it is clear that the emotional vortex runs deep. This is a breakout performance for Wilkinson and hopefully will portend larger roles in the future.

For Sissy Spacek, this is her sixth Oscar nomination. Throughout her career, Spacek has dependably belted out one commanding dramatic performance after another and this is no exception. This is a somewhat more emotionally repressed character than she usually plays, but she does it beautifully. When the dam finally breaks and she goes to pieces, it is one of the most intense scenes in the film.

Marisa Tomei may be one of the most underappreciated actors in film today. After her best supporting Oscar for "My Cousin Vinny", one would have expected more leading roles. They never came and she continued to deliver a parade of terrific supporting roles. Tomei is a very visceral actor, with great emotional range and the ability to make any character seem lovable. Here, as Natalie, she pours herself into a confused and broken girl trying desperately to put her life together after her breakup with an abusive husband. Her romantic scenes are touching and she has numerous heartrending scenes that punctuate the feelings that the other characters are suppressing. This is a richly textured performance that helps give the film its soul. Perhaps now, after 20 years in the business Tomei will finally be discovered.

Nick Stahl rounds out the main cast as son Frank Fowler. Stahl effectively captures the struggle of young adulthood, trying to manage complex adult situations with the inexperience and naiveté of youth. William Mapother does a fine job as Natalie's abusive husband. Mapother's resume is mostly comprised of bit parts in the films of his famous cousin Thomas Mapother (aka Tom Cruise) having appeared in five of them. However Mapother shows talent of his own in some intense scenes with Tomei and Stahl. I was impressed how he was able to switch from arrogant intimidation to meek pusillanimity in the final scene with Wilkinson. It is the perfect portrayal of the bully who is only strong in the face of those weaker than he.

This is a disturbing and powerful film that cuts your heart out and serves it up cold. There is a thunderhead of new and unheralded talent that converges to create an extraordinary independent film. Though Field is a bit heavy handed in the second act, everything else is near perfect. I rated it a 9/10. For lovers of drama and great acting this film is a must see.

Rating:
Summary: Intelligent, emotionally-charged drama
Review: "In the Bedroom" is certainly one of 2001's best movies. It has five great performances, three of which were nominated for Oscars. The script is one of those fine ones in which interesting events are happening on the surface, while even more intriguing ones are going on underneath. Like many movies with great meaning, though, it is not what most people consider entertainment. And I have to admit that this opinion has merit. After all, the terms 'meaningful' and 'entertaining' are, in many ways, polar opposites. "In the Bedroom" is for viewers who, on occasion at least, enjoy a movie that provokes them and causes them to think.

Ruth and Matt Fowler [Sissy Spacek and Tom Wilkinson] live in a small town on the coast of Maine. He's the town doctor, and she's the music teacher at the local high school. In such a place, they are at the top of the social ladder. Their son, Frank [Nick Stahl], is spending the summer at home before going off to graduate school in the fall. He is having an affair with an older woman, Natalie [Marisa Tomei], who has a couple of kids and is in the process of divorcing her rich-kid husband, Richard [William Mapother]. It's anything but an amicable divorce. This fact gives the seeming idyllic love affair an ominous undercurrent, to which Frank seems oblivious.

Ruth objects to the affair for her own reasons. Though Frank insists it's just a summer affair, she senses that her son is in love. She feels that the relationship will jeopardize his future. Matt is supportive of his son for several reasons. He is living vicariously through Frank. More importantly, his relationship with Ruth exists as a shell of what it once was. They don't really like each other anymore and have taken to disagreeing just to disagree. Matt may support his son just because Ruth doesn't. It's a stance he will live to regret.

It's hard to believe that this is director Todd Field's first movie. Prior to this, he was just a relatively successful character actor.

The cast is much better known. Nick Stahl has been acting since he was a small child, although this is easily his most important role. Tom Wilkinson is a very famous character actor in his native England. Sissy Spacek was once a major star. Her Best Actress Oscar was for "Coal Miner's Daughter" twenty years ago, and she was nominated four other times between 1977 and 1987. As roles in movies dwindled, she went off and raised a family. She also did a few small movie roles and several TV movies, but I think it's still fair to call "In the Bedroom" her comeback. It's her best performance in a long and distinguished career. I hope she's back to stay.

Though some of us like to believe that 'it can't happen here', we all know that bad things can and do happen everywhere. This fact is part of what makes "In the Bedroom" so disturbing. The Fowlers are such decent, ordinary people living in such a beautiful and peaceful New England town. The horrible event that wrecks their lives is particularly overwhelming to them because nothing in their lives could prepare them for it. The movie reminds us that good and bad are relative terms. It's easy to be a 'good' person as long as nothing happens to compel us to become 'bad'.

Rating:
Summary: An almost langorous trip
Review: Yep, its slow. But sometimes this kind of deliberate pacing is completely appropriate, especially when dealing with the withering power of bottomless grief over time. Like a baseball game (which itself is an important theme), every event and shading is vital to the story's outcome. Spacek and Wilkinson basically implode over the film's 2 plus hours - any less and I don't think we could fully appreciate the meteor-like, slow-motion impact of the tragedy. Definitely not a film for ADD cases. PS - there is a suggestion that the Marisa Tomei character may not be as helpless as she seems. Sit back, relax, and let the movie's ambiguities wash over you. The length of the trip is worth its rewards.

Rating:
Summary: Brilliant Movie!
Review: I thought this was an excellent movie. I had heard mixed things about it, but this was great. I had heard that it got slow at some parts, but I had gotten so into the movie that I didn't notice any slow parts. I can see why it was nominated for the Oscar's.

Rating:
Summary: Some of the most realistic acting and characters in film!
Review: Some films are great because of their epical, awe-inspiring scope. Some are because they are touching, beautiful films done with a stroke from a true artist. And some are great just because they seem so real. The latter is what makes In the Bedroom so great.

In this film dealing with young love, jealous husbands, and parents love for their child, it's the little moments that define it. In a scene where the parents are listening to bad news from their lawyer, the dad isn't looking at him. Instead he's focused on nick-nacks and pictures of the lawyer's family. This is what real people do! A middle-aged woman, a friend of the family, speaks with "ums" and doesn't always use words perfectly, just like a lot of real people do! The story is nothing new, the situation told countless times in other films. But here, there is a new spark of life, a spark of reality, which makes this film so enjoyable.

All the actors fit into their roles perfectly. Marissa Tormei in another Oscar-nominated performance is great along with the family portrayal of Sissy Spacek, Tom Wilkinson and Nick Stahl.

A warning for those needing a fast paced film. This isn't for you. It takes its time, like things do in the real world. We need more films like this that are not afraid to take it's time in telling the story. Not every film has to cater to the MTV quick-cut crowd.

A great film which was up for many Academy Awards; and worthy of each nomination

Rating:
Summary: I almost fell asleep
Review: If they cut an hour out of it, it could easily be a low-budget, boring TV movie. That's how awful it was. The acting was bad. The directing was bad. I kept hoping something exciting was around the corner but I was wrong. Luckily I rented it and didn't waste money to own such a flat, pointless excuse for a movie. The ending was so dumb. No wonder it didn't win any Academy awards. Don't even think about wasting your time on this one. This isn't the DVD you're looking for. Move along.

Rating:
Summary: Integrity, truth and heart in an understated, spare movie.
Review: What a revelation it was to see this film, especially since it marked Sissy Spacek's long overdue return to the screen. In this movie, she has the role of a lifetime as a wife and mother who is uncomfortable with her son's latest choice of lovers (a married woman with two young children). I hesitate to say too much about what happens in this film but will note that a murder sets off a chain of events and rocks a marriage to the core.
Throughout this film, I kept thinking how much the events reflected real life and didn't seem at all artificial or unbelievable, let alone staged. I got the impression that director Todd Field didn't feel compelled to "explain" his characters or their motivations.
If you like films which end in nice, neat conclusions, be forewarned that this movie isn't one of those. Instead, Field throws viewers into the middle of a family which is struggling to stay afloat. Far from being a downer, however, I found this film to be enlightening and even inspirational.

Rating:
Summary: Mesmorizing, Shocking and Excellent!!!!!!!
Review: Tod Field makes an amazing directing debut. Excellence is in the details. It held my total attention. Sissy Spacek and especially Tom Wilkinson give career performances!!!! To watch the agony in their faces and the timing of the dialog was amazing!!!! Oh if Miles Davis and Orson Wells could have seen this movie.(Their fortes were phrasing and using the silences to accent their next line). Awesome!!!! Of course it was not a feel good movie. I know movie watchers who want more than to just be entertained and space out over some special effects. We want to expirience the feelings of the characters and use our brains and hearts. Plus, what this movie does, like Mr. Hitchcock, is to leave you with more questions unanswered than given, like what would you do in their place? This is a rare gem, especially today.

Rating:
Summary: best movie of 2001
Review: This was the best movie I saw last year. Its not full of car chases and explosions; it is an actors' movie. Tom Wilkinson should have won the "best actor" Oscar; I believe he carried the movie. The evolution of Sissy Spacek and Tom Wilkinson from grief to anger is palpable. It is realistic and relevant. I can't say enough about the acting! It is the most moving family drama since "Ordinary People", but isn't quite as morose. The scenery is small town and beautiful, which lends a sense of familiarity with the characters and their circumstance. See this movie...

Rating:
Summary: Extremely tense film
Review: This movie was excellent. The entire time watching it, I could feel the constant tension between the characters, and that kept me glued to my seat. Yes, this film may move too slow for some, but others who said that they did not like the way it ended apparently did not get the metaphor established at the beginning of the film with the lobsters. I would say at least watch that part again and think about it... Then u will realize why this is such a great film and why it ended the way it did.