Life for a happy couple is turned upside down after their young son dies in an accident. [imdb]
Nominated for 1 Oscar:
Best Actress: Nicole Kidman
Unlike in the case of Blue Valentine, watching this for the second time wasn't as difficult - which is part compliment, part not. Rabbit Hole is meant to be a film that moves you, something both heartbreaking and funny at times, a good character study and all of that. Unfortunately, I wasn't moved by it, not the first time, not the second time.
Nicole cries her eyes out, and while I can sense good acting all around, I wasn't touched by it and never really cared about the dead child storyline. What's to blame for that? I dunno, because I'm not sure what the purpose of the film is. John Cameron Mitchell's direction (I adored him in Hedwig) is quite special, quite subtle but, in my opinion, the pace that he sets for the film somehow stops it from being moving... something's too simple. Does that make sense? Rabbit Hole is like a beautiful painting for the most of it, and while I think the screenplay is quite smart, I didn't care for the film and the story as a whole, just for bits and parts.
Yes, Nicole is good. Aaron is ok and I was more impressed with him pulling off the perfect husband image - which I completely bought. The screenplay is ok, and the best scenes for me were easily the ones in the park. But Rabbit Hole is still difficult to rate, and I go back and forth, trying to figure out how I really feel about it.
My rating for the film: 7.5/10. It was a 7 after the first viewing, but the dialogues between the teen and Nicole's character really are something. However, the film never gets the emotional punch it needs, in my opinion.
Posts
I thought the point was that we were observering the the passing of grief rather then experiencing it. The emotional gap between us and the characters is therefore entirely in keeping.
ReplyDeleteI disagree, but I need to see it again..
ReplyDeleteBen,
ReplyDeleteeverybody is saying how moved they were by the film and few "most heartbreaking scenes" lists around don't include Rabbit Hole in them.
I didn't have an emotional connection to it, maybe because to me it looked a bit too artsy for this genre. what i did feel was some sympathy for the husband, but not connected to their loss.