In the Bedroom

Good human drama. Solid directorial debut from Todd Field. Pacing is a bit uneven though: the movie moves along fairly slowly for about 75% of its length, and then suddenly speeds up, and changes direction to a degree, towards the end.

Excellent performances all round. Sissy Spacek, Tom Wilkinson and Marisa Tomei deserved their Oscar nominations.

This movie was so well done, I felt as if I were an outsider, looking through someone's window. Then the tragedy occurs, we were treated to what probably would have happened after a crime of passion, the imprecision of the evidence, the lack of a witness, and the ability of the perpetrator to avoid prosecution. Mostly the movie is about acting. Sissy Spacek is amazing, so tightly wound and in control. Her somewhat passive husband becomes her foil until the fuse is lit. Then it all comes to a head. I can't imagine living through something like this where your allies become so worthless. There is a scene where the prosecuting attorney jingles his change and looks at his watch while spouting a bunch of meaningless jargon about justice. The father goes catatonic while this is happening. Things play out like they do in life; there are no winners and no losers.

Todd Field's IN THE BEDROOM is an artistic and realistic portrait of domestic trouble in small-town America. Sissy Spacek and Tom Wilkinson star as Ruth and Matt Fowler, the parents of a recent high school graduate, Frank (Nick Stahl), who has an affair with a married woman, Natalie (Marisa Tomei). A tragic event near the beginning of the film seems to stunt its action and dialogue, allowing the film to change into a largely visual piece based on memories, feelings, and silent communication; while the film's slow-moving camera, soft sunny lighting, and cautious pacing give it a resonating intensity.

Set in coastal Maine, the Fowlers are a well-liked family with simple, straightforward values. Dr. Fowler has his own small medical practice. Mrs. Fowler directs the chorus at the high school. Frank is a good kid who is working on the fishing docks for the summer, waiting for college in the fall. Frank falls into a summer romance with Natalie, an older woman with two young sons and a creepy, lurking husband (William Mapother) from whom she is separated. The relationship is worrisome to Mr. and Mrs. Fowler, but they want to be supportive of their son so they gently nudge him to think about the bigger picture, without being overbearing. But when the unthinkable happens, Mr. and Mrs. Fowler come face to face with their worst nightmare. Quietly, calmly, and with the most logic they can muster, they begin a dark and dangerous psychological journey. The result, reinforced by stunning performances from Wilkinson and Spacek, is a pensive, penetrating, and utterly believable story.

So simple. So honest. So heartbreaking. I dare you to see this movie and not go through a self-invasive, heartfelt understanding for the familial and emotional conflicts these characters go through. one of the best films shown at Sundance, hands down. Not a movie for the emotionally squeamish...brutally powerful... Violent, excruciating truth and beauty...the raw emotional power imbued into the scenes with Wilkinson and Spacek are Oscar-worthy. Marisa Tomei finally gets a role worthy of her talent since My Cousin Vinny. Utterly unforgettable, and a slam-dunk certainty for some kind of oscar, whether screenplay, acting, or directorial.

Wow.

First-time director Todd Field's "In the Bedroom" is a dark and disturbing film which is both a joy and a trial to sit through. Recent high school graduate Nick Stahl is having a little bit of fun during his last summer of freedom. He is seeing Marisa Tomei (Oscar-nominated), a woman twice his age who has young children and is separated from her shady husband (William Mapother in an appropriately chilly performance). Mother and music teacher Sissy Spacek (Oscar-nominated) worries about the relationship while father and town doctor Tom Wilkinson (also Oscar-nominated) shrugs off the partnership as a simple summer fling. When tragedy strikes, the simple life in Camden, Maine turns into chaos for all involved. "In the Bedroom" is one of the roughest films I have ever watched. It is a movie that is thought-provoking in the fact that everything seems so normal and yet darkness looms overhead for the primary characters in the film. The fact that the film takes place in rural Maine just makes it that much more scary. When one thinks of situations from the movie occurring, few think of a place like Maine. Much like "Fargo", "In the Bedroom" shows that bad elements are everywhere, even in the most unlikely of places. However, be warned that "In the Bedroom" does not go for the black humor that "Fargo" went for. This is a film that will chill you to the bone. It is a must-see and easily one of the top five or ten films of 2001. 5 stars out of 5.