Noi due sconosciuti

Went to a preview of this movie last night. I was blown away by the powerful performances of Benicio Del Torro and Halle Berry. Del Torro's performance was particularly moving - his best ever and Halle Berry definitely delivers. This is the story of a woman who appears to have been so invested in her husband as the center of her universe that when she tragically loses him, she turns to his best friend (who she has hated for years) to keep from losing her connection to her husband. In the course of events, she discovers the redeeming qualities her husband had always seen in him.

Del Torro gives a poignant performance of a drug addict who struggles to change his life after the loss of his best friend - with quiet dignity. A must see at least once. Although the movie is long, I can't imagine cutting one moment of this powerful story. Cinematically it's superb.

Everyone who knows anyone who has struggled with addiction will be gripped by the performance of Del Torro.

Bier tells a sensitive story of grieving and dealing with loss. The theme is quite heavy. While many have criticized the film for its slow pace and yes, Bier does take her time to tell the story, I did not see that as a disadvantage because this allows the viewer to really see the depth of the characters and how these people were deeply affected by tragedy.

A lot of it depends on the actors' performances. Their emotions look raw. Halle Berry is wonderfully restrained. This is the first superb performance of hers I have seen since 'Monster's Ball'. Not that she's been less than satisfactory in anything else but here she is given a well written part in a long time. Benicio Del Toro is fantastic too. Both capture the essence of their characters and interestingly portray Audrey's and Jerry's different ways of dealing with grief. Moreover, Jerry has to face the additional challenge of fighting his addiction. John Caroll Lynch, David Duchovny and Alison Lohman provide great support. The child actors are brilliant too.

On the technical side, it is a well-made film. The cinematography is good. The background score is gentle and 'quiet'. The sets are quite appealing. I liked the Audrey's house.

'Things We Lost In The Fire' is a strong depiction of grief. The theme might be a little too heavy for some and not everyone seems to 'get' it but it is a well-intentioned great movie that tells a moving story.

When loving husband Brian Burke (David Duchovny) gets unpurposefully murdered, when interfering with a couple's fight, his wife and mother of two Audrey (Halle Berry) is left to cope all by herself. Brian does leave a sizable amount of money, which guarantees her legroom, but the tragic death remains unbearable. Brian's best friend Jerry Sunborne (Benicio Del Toro) is a recurring drug addict, kept away from the family, but he nonetheless visited and helped out despite the spiralling downfall. The funeral of his friend serves as a way of connecting Audrey with Jerry, who ultimately takes in on herself to save him from the untimely narcotic fate.

In my mind Susanne Bier remains one of the most massively overrated modern-day directors. Essentially an executor of high-end dramatic drivel her most major flaw comes from attempts of integrated foreign elements into her story (the good doctor in Africa in "Haevnen" or an Afghanistan POW back-story in "Brodre") with such infantilism and well-intentioned but borderline misguided racism, that blow-back is inevitable. Nonetheless Sussane Bier is extremely effective and in-depth at uncovering frailties of family life, however any ventures outside her safety zone of first world reality are true calamities in her work.

Her fortunately the material stays close to home, giving a strong dramatic back-drop of the disruptive relationship of harrowing widow and recovering drug-addict. Nonetheless "Things We Lost in the Fire" feels at times like a compassionate top shelf family drama, occasionally glossy and with hints of soap opera, where the overall impact is increased by the powerful performance of Benicio del Toro. Every inch of his body aches and reacts, giving a truly masterful role, which is a real must. Whereas the story itself is intriguing, but somewhat unmemorable, images of del Toro and the pain, longing or remorse reverberating throughout his whole body is something that truly needs to be admired.

Saw this last evening at a preview screening here in Arizona and it was a LOT heavier than the trailer leads you to believe, which, I for one, was grateful for! Granted, this is only MY opinion, but I think that Halle does some of her best work in a long time here and for me, ranks up there with Monster's Ball and Losing Isaiah. Of course, Benecio is a great pleasure to watch as always, playing the demonized friend of David Duchovny, but I think Halle rises just a notch up everything here and truly shines! The supporting cast is also really enjoyable to watch, especially John Carroll Lynch playing a next door neighbor who finds an unlikely friend in Benecio's character. Great camera work and great direction all the way around and although the film is a bit long, I am glad the director had the wisdom not to rush through the story. Great film and I cannot wait to purchase it on DVD!

Greetings again from the darkness. Very good melodrama from Scandanavian director Susanne Bier. The film is intentionally slow moving ... just like real life tragedy. Although we could have been beaten over the head with the cute as heck kids, the story is actually more focused on the heroin addicted best friend played by Benecio del Toro. This makes the point that strength can come from many sources.

Halle Berry gives her best performance since "Monster's Ball" (yes even better than "Catwoman"). We feel her happiness, pain, desperation and hope. The cute kids are played by an amazing 11 yr old Alexis Llewellyn and Micah Berry (not her real life son). Also strong is Alison Lohman, who just doesn't work enough these days. However the strongest performance is by Benecio. I am not sure if the role was written for him or if he just perfectly captures best friend Jerry. It is most complicated role and requires enormous depth.

I definitely recommend the film thanks to its basis in reality and fine performances and terrific direction. However, I will qualify it by saying that I don't believe it is quite in the class of "21 Grams"