In the Bedroom (2001)

hyped garbage

Expected more

The first must-see film of the year.

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

In the Bedroom is one of the greatest crime dramas ever made. This movie is based on a series of short stories called Kilkings by Andre Dubus. The story line was great. There were not any holes in the plot. Todd Field's direction was incredible. He also co-wrote the screenplay. He earned Academy Award nominations for Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay. The performances were top notch, especially from Sissy Spacek, Tom Wilkinson, and Marisa Tomei. All three of them earned Academy Award nominations for their performances; Spacek earned one for Best Actress, Wilkinson earned one for Best actor, and Tomei earned one for Best Supporting Actress. The film was also nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards that year as well. In the Bedroom should have won every Acedemy Award it was nominated for. This film other major awards and deserved to win every single Academy Award because it is rare to see a film with such great performances, direction, and a great plot. While the film is a little slow at times, the director does it to show two parents' grief over the loss of their son and how it affects both parents, but in different ways. Be patient when it starts to become a little slow, as this is done to help audiences understand why the parents are acting and thinking the way that they are This is a great film universally acclaimed by critics everywhere and still continues to be praised by critics as the years go by. This is one of my favorite films. I love the intensity, the acting, the plot, and the music. I love this more and more every time I watch this one. As I get older, I know I will enjoy this one even more.

In the Bedroom is a movie I had never really heard of or come across until tonight. I really don't know how I could have skipped past this one or how it just flew under my radar. Sissy Spacek, Marisa Tomie, and Nick and Tom are all great here. Especially Sissy Spacek! Gosh did she ever turn in a fabulous performance. Her portrayal of the mother/wife that has had her son suddenly taken away from him. And Tom's is great too, he is really able to channel the feelings of a father/husband who has been through a tragedy or if you're just feeling down is at his wit's end. Marisa is a great actor and she really does give it her all and she flows well in the different scenes. In the bedroom does not disappoint. It's written in a way that tells all sides to this tragic story. The "sides" are Tomei, the mother and father. I encourage everyone who loves a good drama. It definitely is a unique, very well done film. 9/10 for in the bedroom.

In The Bedroom is tough cinema, packed with the kind of substance and human drama that often drives casual viewers away, their psyches scorched by the lack of generic plotting and warm, fuzzy story arcs. To those who actively seek out realism, heartbreaking emotion and films which probe the complex corners of the human soul for answers that weigh heavier in your thoughts than the questions, this one is a treat. It lulls you in with an opening montage of summer romance, giving you no context of the challenging character arcs to come. We begin with Frank (Nick Stahl) a man barely out of his teens, in the midst of a passionate fling with Natalie (a fantastic Marisa Tomei), a woman far older than him who has two kids and a troublesome ex husband (William Mapother). Frank's parents differ on their opinions as far as his relationship goes. His no nonsense mother (Sissy Spacek), calmly disapproves, while his loving father (Tom Wilkinson) encourages simply by sitting back and going along with it. Then, out of nowhere, the plot takes a sharp turn into tragedy. Frank is killed in a struggle involving the volatile ex husband, leaving everyone behind to grieve. This film isn't content with a simple, standard grieving process. It insists on holding a steady, nonjudgmental gaze upon the parents, and the agonizing state they are left in. The killer is released on extended bail. The mother is torn apart knowing he is out there. The father actively downplays the devastation simply because he isn't capable of letting out what's inside him, twisting him in silent despair every moment of every day. Wilkinson is emotional dynamite, like a bleak cloud with flashes of sorrowful lightning beneath, a time bomb of implosive sadness. Spacek carries herself magnificently, especially in a third act verbal showdown with Tom that leaves you gutted and stunned. These two play their roles with uncanny precision, every movement and mannerism a roadmap leading straight to the core emotion, and shellshock of the tragedy, still being absorbed by their characters with every frame we see. It's a brave script for any group to undertake, and one which you must go into utterly prepared or you will either fall short of telling the story to its potential, or be consumed and disarmed by it, and arrive with a finished product with a tone deaf mentality. Not this one. Every aspect is treated with care, attention and focus by all involved, miraculously pulling this hefty piece off without a hitch. It's often a struggle to sit through films that don't make you feel all that great, films that tear off the superficial cloth that much of cinema is cut from, delving beneath for an unwavering look at what really goes on in this world of ours, be it large scale or intimate. It's important to experience this occasionally though, as it can often teach you valuable truths and awaken parts of your perception that lie dormant during a lot of other movies. This one won't hold your hand and provide an emotional blueprint for you to follow, but in being let off the leash, the experience may just be more rewarding.

In the Bedroom is a film that stars Tom Wilkinson, Sissy Spacek, Nick Stahl, Marisa Tomei, and William Mapother. First-time director Todd Field, who adapted the film from a story by Andre Dubus with screenwriter Rob Festinger, quietly observes the loss, rage, and inexorable desire for revenge that follows the murder of a 21-year-old son.Frank Fowler is a handsome and amiable young man who has recently graduated from high school and is spending the summer working as a lobster fisherman before heading off to college in the fall. Frank is also involved with Natalie, an attractive woman ten years his senior who is separated from her husband Richard, though their divorce has not yet been finalized. Frank's parents, Matt and Ruth wonder if it's wise for their son to be pursuing a romance that he won't be able to continue in a few months; Matt trusts Frank and leaves him to make his own decisions, while Ruth quietly but firmly registers her objections. One day, Richard snaps, and breaks into Natalie's home; when he discovers Frank is there, he viciously kills him. The wheels of justice turn in an unexpected direction, and Richard is released on bail, free to go his own way as he awaits his trial. Matt and Ruth are both deeply traumatized by the event; while Matt tries to deal with his hurt by retreating into his work and avoiding his feelings, Ruth instead becomes increasingly withdrawn, losing interest in her job as a music teacher and spending her nights chain smoking in front of the television.Field's exact handling of jealousy, class division, and grief is abetted by career-highlight performances from Wilkinson and Spacek which makes this movie so emotionally pure and rigorous that you're more than willing to go along with it.Also,this will definitely lingers in the mind, suffusing melancholy with the fateful pall of dread that hangs over all of life's pleasures.The story and direction are powerful enough. But it's the acting that elevates this film.It definitely works at all levels.