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BaftaBaby 
"Always entranced by cinema."
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 Posted - 11/28/2010 : 01:31:03
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Rabbit Hole
I didn't see the Tony-award winning play on which this film is based, but I sure hope it was structured with greater attention to what's expected of drama. Because in sheer story-telling terms, this is a tear-stained mess.
Well, I say tear-stained even though it brought not one lump to my throat, but then maybe I've just seen too many grieving parents for the loss of a kid films.
Straight away, however, you will not find better acting from any of this year's crop. Both Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhardt as the bereaved Corbetts match each other for totally believable emotional subtlety and beneath the surface truth. They're surrounded by an equally able supporting cast headed by Dianne Wiest as her mom.
Shortbus director John Cameron Mitchell acquits himself well, confident in his framing and the rhythms of his editing.
But just a step back to take in the bigger picture reveals what's missing - any sense of drama and surprise. Considering it's the playwright who's credited with the screenplay, that's surprising in itself.
There's one relationship the could have formed the basis for a truly engaging and original film, but it's treated as a side-bar, brought into the story far too late and then sketched in with colored sand that blows away in the wind. What's left is probably a t.v. movie that deserves neither its big screen presentation nor budget.
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Edited by - BaftaBaby on 12/27/2010 18:59:01 |
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randall
"I like to watch."
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Posted - 12/14/2010 : 02:18:08
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Wow, tonight I saw a different picture entirely.
It's small, quiet, hardly "opened up" at all, yes indeed. But Aaron Eckhart and Nicole Kidman are at the top of their games, and Diane Weist only adds frosting; she is spectacular. What superb, close-up film work, coming from John Cameron Mitchell, a *theater* guy! And Miles Teller is a real find as the guy who...aw, I'd better not spoil. He will be taking roles from Paul Dano within two years.
The couple loses a young son. The picture documents their attempts to put their lives back together, using very small aspects of life to make major emotional statements. Acting, acting, acting, all in 28 days in Queens, according to the director, who took Q&As afterward. Not necessarily a first-nighter, but definitely a solid rental, and I expect you will hear the title repeated at Oscar time. |
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Rabbit Hole- please see my Bafta thread
