RABBIT HOLE
***
Director: John Cameron Mitchell
Screenwriter: David Lindsay-Abaire - adapted from his play Rabbit Hole
Principal cast:
Nicole Kidman
Aaron Eckhart
Miles Teller
Sandra Oh
Dianne Wiest
Tammy Blanchard
Country: USA
Classification: M
Runtime: 91 mins.
Australian release date: 17 February 2011
John Cameron Mitchell’s, Rabbit Hole, adapted for the screen by the original playwright, David Lindsay-Abaire, stars Nicole Kidman as Becca, a woman who is traumatized by the loss of her four-year-old son, Danny, who was run over when he ran into the street after his dog. This is middle-class America, in the heart of the Hudson Valley, in suburban New York, an area that embraces big houses, expensive cars and local residents wearing awful clothes.
Becca attends a grief therapy centre with her husband, Howie (Aaron Eckhart) in an attempt to come to terms with their inconsolable state. They meet other couples who in some cases have been going there for years and it is in these sessions we get to see how intense Lindsay-Abaire’s script is in its acute observation of human nature.
At no time do you feel that you are watching a re-working of a play. The characters are all intensely scrutinized by the camera and it is almost suffocating at times. Both Becca and Howie establish friendships with other people. Becca seeks solace from the car’s driver, Jason (Miles Teller), who is just finishing high school and is a budding comic book artist. Meanwhile Howie tries to find some kind of release from his pent-up emotions and Becca’s coldness in the company of Gaby (Sandra Oh), another member of the therapy group who is also grieving for the loss of her child.
The performances are all excellent in this drama, which is at times brutally funny and tender. Becca’s mother, Nat (Dianne Wiest), gives the performance of her career. Her other daughter, Izzy (Tammy Blanchard), is also perfectly pitched against her brittle and emotionally vulnerable sister.
Rabbit Hole is a film that is harrowing to watch and at times quite frustrating. There are moments when you can’t imagine how difficult it must be for people who have suffered this kind of tragedy. When Becca asks her mother, who incidentally is also getting over the loss of a child, “Does it ever go away?”, you are left feeling as if it is a life sentence. David Lindsay-Abaire’s script sees the only way out is through. To where? Well, you’ll have to watch the film to find out.
Screenwriter: David Lindsay-Abaire - adapted from his play Rabbit Hole
Principal cast:
Nicole Kidman
Aaron Eckhart
Miles Teller
Sandra Oh
Dianne Wiest
Tammy Blanchard
Country: USA
Classification: M
Runtime: 91 mins.
Australian release date: 17 February 2011
John Cameron Mitchell’s, Rabbit Hole, adapted for the screen by the original playwright, David Lindsay-Abaire, stars Nicole Kidman as Becca, a woman who is traumatized by the loss of her four-year-old son, Danny, who was run over when he ran into the street after his dog. This is middle-class America, in the heart of the Hudson Valley, in suburban New York, an area that embraces big houses, expensive cars and local residents wearing awful clothes.
Becca attends a grief therapy centre with her husband, Howie (Aaron Eckhart) in an attempt to come to terms with their inconsolable state. They meet other couples who in some cases have been going there for years and it is in these sessions we get to see how intense Lindsay-Abaire’s script is in its acute observation of human nature.
At no time do you feel that you are watching a re-working of a play. The characters are all intensely scrutinized by the camera and it is almost suffocating at times. Both Becca and Howie establish friendships with other people. Becca seeks solace from the car’s driver, Jason (Miles Teller), who is just finishing high school and is a budding comic book artist. Meanwhile Howie tries to find some kind of release from his pent-up emotions and Becca’s coldness in the company of Gaby (Sandra Oh), another member of the therapy group who is also grieving for the loss of her child.
The performances are all excellent in this drama, which is at times brutally funny and tender. Becca’s mother, Nat (Dianne Wiest), gives the performance of her career. Her other daughter, Izzy (Tammy Blanchard), is also perfectly pitched against her brittle and emotionally vulnerable sister.
Rabbit Hole is a film that is harrowing to watch and at times quite frustrating. There are moments when you can’t imagine how difficult it must be for people who have suffered this kind of tragedy. When Becca asks her mother, who incidentally is also getting over the loss of a child, “Does it ever go away?”, you are left feeling as if it is a life sentence. David Lindsay-Abaire’s script sees the only way out is through. To where? Well, you’ll have to watch the film to find out.