Rabbit Hole (2010)

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Pretty Good

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

Tragic piece "Rabbit Hole" is a character piece which centers on a grieving couple, and leaves some room for outsider interactions which in turn, become the most interesting plot subjects.No doubt both Echkart and Kidman pull the movie through: while the first is most passionate and fierce in his lamentations (and so more relatable) Kidman shines through little sickened gestures, boiling under the skin, irreparably broken. This performance is more subtle, and a little colder, so it may be harder to relate. Even so, her maternal instincts are plastered onto the figure of young Jason (Miles Teller), who looks like no teenager I know but keeps the grief motion in check and does a good job of looking battered down.In the end, the movie plays like an forced theatre piece that leaves little more than broken spirits, good performances and the always welcomed reminder that life sucks.

This was pretty good, if somewhat painful to watch but made better by an above average cast. The story itself doesn't have many arcs, its unrelentingly gloomy, following a middle class couple 8 months after the death of their young son who was hit by a car while chasing their dog into the street.The grief displayed by Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart is raw and well portrayed in its many forms as the couple shun friends and neighbours while the icy 'Becca' tries to banish memories of her deceased son by disposing of his possessions and Howie lives in the past. They attend group therapy (together for a while) and Howie befriends the (pot smoking) Sandra Oh. Becca in turn secretly meets with the driver of the car that killed Danny and tries to come to terms with her sisters impending birth and her mothers own loss.This is a couple barely hanging on, its powerful and raw, often painful to watch but worth the effort for the convincing performances.I loved all the leads in this; Sandra Oh, Aaron Eckhart and Nicole Kidman always does a great job. In sub roles Dianne Wiest was fantastic and nice to see Giancarlo Esposito with his entire face. 10/5/16

"Rabbit Hole" is the sentimental story of the fragile and halted marriage of Becca (Nicole Kidman) and Howard (Aaron Eckhart) as they're overcoming their work life while facing a sexless relationship while coming to grips over the death of their son who was killed in a car accident. Becca eventually takes the initiative to confront the teenager, Jason (Miles Teller) who was behind the wheel that struck her young son. This is her way to come around and let it out of her system as a way to move on with her life.Based on the 2007 Pulitzer Prize winning play by David Lindsay- Abaire he also took the responsibility to write the screenplay. It is a melancholy and depressing story of an unhappily married couple (Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart) trying to break out of their grieving phases after the tragic death of their son. Under the careful direction of John Cameron Mitchell, it shows how many individuals find distractions whenever they feel the grief bug manifesting with itself. But the main reason this film is quite special is because it refrains from over-doing the tearing moments while procuring strong provocative scenes centring around the best and the worst of human emotions while not overplaying it. There are numerous ways that we as members of human race practise in order to escape the doldrums of our lives. Some of us seek therapy workshops as a way to vent out what's ailing us and to have another person whom we can open up to when no one else gives a damn about our problems. Others do more outwardly stuff that might seem more spontaneous like taking up drinking, smoking and sexual tendencies as a way to chase your troubles away. And then there are those who take up hobbies such as collecting stuff or doing spring cleaning like putting things away as a reminder of the person we love so we try to leave it in the past. There are many ways to conquer grief, and "Rabbit Hole" examines each method by keeping it subtle while staying true to the narrative which is why this film deserves better recognition. Though it's a very heavy story to handle, but the narrative stays easy on the sentimentality and instead we're intrigued by how our two leading protagonists try to overcome their tragedy and grief and move forward to a new beginning and that there's always a way out if you could find it somewhere. There were unintentional humorous scenes where Howard is hosts to family who wants to buy the house they're trying to sell and even though it looked awkward, it was still very effective as we are more convinced that Howie is more grief-struck than Becca. Not to be usurped by Eckhart, Kidman churns up an Oscar nomination as the housewife who sacrificed her dream career almost to the point of becoming semi-reclusive by not mingling with too many people surrounding her especially those who slipped into bringing up her son's death. The emotions from Kidman are absolutely sublime and the sub-plots outside the centre story involving her disdain towards her sister's pre-marital pregnancy to her confronting the driver (Miles Teller) who killed her son, in which her healing starts to step forward can be painful to watch, but is a sigh of relief when she's able to levy forgiveness towards the young man. One of the best traits towards the narrative of the story is that it maintains a solid effort without going over what's happening like as if we're not aware of what's happening. We never really get to right away know what happened to Becca and Howie's son, but that's what makes David Lindsay Abaire's play so poignant and John Cameron Mitchell's direction so liberating so that we the audience can decide on what conclusion is what's best for you. We also highly anticipate as to how Howard and Becca are doing marriage wise in spite of all they went through and what little secrets they've kept from each other during these very trivializing moments they have faced and what lies ahead of them as the film progresses.The issues discussed here is quite provocative in it is a plethora of many of the issues that we have encountered whether it brings happiness or eternal gloom and to look for that sign of optimism that was lost because the situations we face at times are not always pleasant. If we can find that problem and turn it into a solution we can fix, it might help us revive that smile we once lost. Sure this movie is gloomy and depressing, but there is a feel- good element that comes to life over our protagonists. The message is that it's okay to cry when things look sad and grim, but no person wants to stay sad forever and that's very inspiring that Howie and Becca have managed to understand that. The message is simple here, but very important too.

Nicole Kidman is known for doing risky films, some which pay off some which don't, this definitely being one of the former. I found this film to be worthwhile watching. Firstly due to the performance by the whole cast. Nicole, Aaron, Dianne and the rest give stellar performances. Secondly the story itself. Its not about the sorrow of losing a child but how they cope with the grief. Becca and Howie cope with their grief in different ways, which leads to conflict between the two at first, Becca reaching out to Jason and Howie reaching out to Gabby, but in the end we see that they will heal together and be together. I saw rabbit hole a few times and each time I find a different scene that I find to be the 'best' scene. For me when I watched it yesterday was when Becca slaps the mother in the supermarket and realized what she has just done. there are many such best scenes. The script is brilliant. the acting not over the top nor melodramatic. John Cameron Mitchell gets the maximum from the script and the cast making it a moving drama without melodrama which I hate. Overall a fantastic movie deserving more recognition and I feel it would with time to come