In the Bedroom

Ahh, January. Is there a better time of the year for us film-geeks? Everywhere you look, Oscar contenders, star-studded movies and stellar performances. The latest foray to the theatres was In the Bedroom, a drama about a family in rural Maine.

Relative newcomer Nick Stahl plays Frank Fowler, a young college-bound man who spends his last summer at home fishing and dating an older woman, Natalie Strout (a surprisingly good Marisa Tomei). The problem? Well, it turns out Natalie has two kids and an ex-husband who isn't too happy about this new relationship, which leads to increasingly violent confrontations between the two men. In itself, an interesting story with solid performances that probably could have carried the movie by itself.

The real strength of this film, however, is Sissy Spacek and Tom Wilkenson who play Frank's concerned parents, and how the events in their son's life affect them. You will hear lots of talk in the next few months about Spacek's performance and likely an Oscar is in her near future, but to me, it's just the choice of a sentimental favourite. Don't get me wrong; she does a wonderful job, but her screen time is quite limited in comparison to Tom Wilkinson and he, to be honest, steals the show.

In the first half hour of this film, I thought In the Bedroom was a decent movie, but nothing special, until Wilkinson took over, and from that point on dominated scene after scene in what I consider one of the strongest performances of the year. Without saying too much more about the plot of the movie, suffice it to say that Wilkinson takes you through the full range of emotions, and you can't help but be focused on the presence he exudes throughout.

Sometimes, it's fun to go see a movie without having any expectations, or even having knowledge of the basic plot or premise. It's also nice to see a movie that would usually get ignored in a crowded market get a large amount of attention without having the plot be too obvious from trailers or commercials. Although In the Bedroom has been in theatres for a number of months, it's only recently started getting attention and positive word of mouth after Sissy Spacek's Golden Globe nomination.

Tom Wilkinson plays Dr. Matt Fowler and Sissy Spacek plays his music teacher wife, an older couple living in a small Maine fishing town, who become worried when their only son becomes involved with an older woman with two kids, played by Marisa Tomei. Their worries soon prove to be warranted, as the woman and her estranged husband proceed to destroy the teenager's life. Ultimately, it has a devastating effect on the couple's everyday life and their relationship.

This movie is a fascinating and powerful character study of people in a small town and how conflict and tragedy affect them. It is a story that takes place in three clear-cut acts separated by two twists, both of which take the viewer by surprise although they're both foreshadowed and somewhat expected.

It's hard not to compare this movie to the recently released Monster's Ball, one of my least favorite movies of last year, but it's a fair comparison, since it also showed a series of tragic and sudden events and how they affect the people in a small town. Unlike Monster's Ball, I found the actions and emotions of the characters in this movie to be a lot more plausible, and you can't help feeling the despair of the couple as they deal with their son's problems.

In the Bedroom also compares to last year's The Deep End, and Sam Raimi's underrated A Simple Plan, two other slow movies that dealt with how small town folk deal with problems and how those problems sometimes lead to more drastic actions. It's never clear whether the Fowlers disapprove of their son's relationship is because the woman is older and has two kids or because of the problems that her estranged husband brings to the relationship. At times, it seems like the Fowlers' only worry is that their son may not go to college in order to stick around and take care of his older lover and her kids.

Either way, the parents starts to drift apart due to their overpowering sense of grief and inability to change things, and it's not long before they're playing the blame game on who is responsible for their son's situation. When they finally explode, it's one of the most powerful film moments in recent memory. The shorter third act shows how they learn to cope and deal with their problems.

Despite the slow pace and the excessive length, the performances and the beautiful yet subdued camerawork and choice of setting keeps the viewer riveted to the screen.

It's been far too long since we've seen Sissy Spacek in a movie, and like this year's other comeback kid, Robert Redford, her age is showing. But her age also makes her perfect for the role of Ruth Lawler, as her world -weary eyes seem suitably representative of Ruth's own frustrations.

Like last year's The Deep End and The Others, this movie shows how an over-protective mother can alienate her children while trying to help them. Spacek gives another groundbreaking performance that shows talented yet less experienced actresses Tilda Swinton. Nicole Kidman and especially Halle Berry how to create realistic emotions on screen. Late in the movie, there is a particularly tense yet short confrontation between Spacek and Marisa Tomei that shows how much better these two actresses are.

Tom Wilkinson has played comedic parts in The Full Monty and has appeared in a number of period pieces including Sense and Sensibility and The Patriot. In the Bedroom proves him to be quite a talented dramatic lead actor, as his performance allows him the full range of emotions, and he creates a character as believable and real as Spacek's.

First-time director Todd Field is probably best known as playing Nick Nightingale, the pianist who gets Tom Cruise in a bit of trouble in Stanley Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut. Field uses the Maine setting beautifully to create a portrait of the couple's life, and he uses the pacing to create insurmountable tension before driving a wedge between the couple. The script by Field and Robert Festinger is one of the better ones of the year with dialogue that is far too real, yet perfectly suited for talents such as Spacek and Wilkinson.

Obviously, this movie will be getting a good deal of Oscar attention due to the performances by Spacek, Wilkinson, Tomei, and the terrific script. If you want to see action, go see Blackhawk Down; if you want to see the fine form of filmmaking as perfected by two master thespians and a talented new director, than In the Bedroom will have you riveted to the screen. Rating: 9 out of 10

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.

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.

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.