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 Grief
(gref) noun - emotional suffering, as caused by bereavement,
affliction, remorse, panic, or despair.
No matter how you define it, grief isn't pretty. It's an unpleasant
experience that different people deal with in different ways, and
as comforting as friends and family try to be, grief is a personal
nightmare that takes time to run its course (if it ever does). That
time is under close observation in Todd Field's deep, devastating,
and hypnotic directorial debut In The Bedroom. Powerful without
being forced, dramatic without being artificial, and effective without
being manipulative, In The Bedroom is that rare gem of a
movie--one that holds your attention so firmly, you simply don't
want it to end.
In the peaceful seaside town of Camden, Maine, the Fowlers--physician
Matt (Tom Wilkinson) and his schoolteacher wife Ruth (Sissy Spacek)--don't
really approve of their only son Frank's (Nick Stahl) relationship
with Natalie (Marisa Tomei), a single mother of two who is a few
years his senior. They want Frank to go away to school so he can
study to be an architect, but after one too many domestic disputes
between Natalie and her emotionally unstable ex-husband (William
Mapother), Frank gets caught in the middle and pays the ultimate
price. It's a crushing blow to Matt and Ruth, but even more devastating
is how they deal--or more to the point, how they don't deal--with
their grief.
There's a scene in the middle of In The Bedroom that defines
the emotional power of the film. In an attempt to make sense out
of the tragedy, Matt visits Natalie at the mini-mart where she works.
They are both feeling the same thing--complete and utter devastation--but
try as they might, they can't find the words to comfort each other.
For the audience, nothing has to be said, as the pain that they
share is permanently etched in their eyes, their actions, and their
emotions. It's called "acting," my friends, and dealing with the
death of a loved one hasn't been captured this realistically since
Robert Redford's Oscar winning Ordinary People more than
20 years ago.
In
The Bedroom boasts what are easily the most Oscar-worthy performances
of the year. Sissy Spacek is spectacular as Ruth, the quietly opinionated
mother who's so uptight, you can hear the eggshells crack around
her the moment she appears on the screen. In the aftermath of her
son's death, she becomes more reserved, as she clearly doesn't know
how to deal with the pain. By contrast, Tom Wilkinson--in a career-defining
performance--is internally screaming to be embraced, and he becomes
even more devastated when the one person he needs the most (his
wife) isn't there for him. It's only a matter of time before they
explode, and explode they do, blaming each other and aggravating
what is already a fractured relationship.
The supporting cast is also in top form, as Marisa Tomei finally
justifies the Oscar she won for 1993's My Cousin Vinny. Nick
Stahl displays the purity of the lone son whose good deed leads
to tragic consequences, while William Mapother is right on target
as the estranged husband who exudes plenty of chills during his
relatively brief screen time. If Mapother looks familiar, he should.
He's Tom Cruise's cousin, and he can be seen in the background of
most of Cruise's recent films. With In The Bedroom, he finally
makes a name for himself, and his excellent performance will undoubtedly
lead to more commanding screen roles down the line.
By examining the drastic actions that we sometimes take to get over
our grief, writer/director Todd Field (who, as an actor, played
piano player Nick Nightingale in Eyes Wide Shut) takes the
film into uncharted waters before it finally docks on a chilly,
barren port of call. It's a jarring and slightly uneven detour from
what preceded it, but its relenting power is just as devastating.
And though it may not have the happiest of endings, the film still
leaves you with an everlasting message: While wounds may heal, scars
remain, and aggravating that scar just might re-open those wounds
with even more horrifying and devastating results.
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