In the Bedroom

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.

The use of sound in the film was interesting. Background noise was used to tell the story as much as as the filming angles. This gave the movie a compelling dimension of claustrophobia for the main characters as though everything was closing in on them.

The sound aspect perfected a sense of distraction or lack of concentration that many people may feel after a tragedy. Of course the obvious scene is where the Dr. Fowler is speaking to the DA. The focus of the camera captures the movement of the DA's mouth, then the jingling of the keys in the DA's pocket. Another not-so-obvious scene is when Dr. Fowler visits Natalie in the country store. The footsteps, the creaking of the floor boards, and the beeping noises from the cash register all create the sense that both Natalie and Dr. Fowler want to lash out at creators of those noises.

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.

I really liked "In the Bedroom" the first time I saw it. It's a movie with a monster who does not look like a monster. I recently watched the ending and appreciated the craft of the entire crew, especially the director in the choices he made. For me the movie is not about the crimes committed or who are your friends when times are bad, rather it's about that little monster that we have inside of us that when given the chance will choose for us to be and do unthinkable things.

There are a lot movies that I've seen that never warrant a second look, much less a third or fourth. That's because the director has played all of his/her cards right up front. Once you seen the movie once there is nothing else to see. With "In the Bedroom" I noticed the quiet, there was no constant music theme interrupting my thoughts. I noticed the performances of Wilkinson, Spacek and Marisa Tomei.. The Tomei role intrigued me. I remembered her best as Lisa Bonet cocky room mate in the first season of TV sitcom "A Different World". I noticed the crabs and the town, how there seemed be no diversity.

My second look, had me pay closer attention to monster, played with perfection by Sissy Spacek. Even in her mid fifties Sissy Spacek is cute and we all had cute monsters in our life. Monsters are things that a far more relentless then we are. Monsters get what they want, with out ever compromising. They are unreasonable, like Javier Bardem in "No Country for Old Men" or Daniel Day-Lewis, in "There Will Be Blood". Movies where the monster wins leaves the audience dissatisfied, but will to go back and take another look. My most recent look got me paying attention to the scenery, how beautiful old towns, bay views, dense forest and sea ports are. That no matter how beautiful nature is, it is relentless and will get its way.

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.