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Rabbit Hole Stars: Nicole Kidman, Aaron Eckhart, Sandra Oh, Dianne Wiest, Miles Teller and Tammy Blanchard Director: John Cameron Mitchell Scriptwriter: David Lindsay Abaire from his play, “Rabbit Hole” Cinematography: Frank G. DeMarco Composer: Anton Sanka Lionsgate Rating: PG 13 for themed material, language and drug use Running Length: 92 minutes People grieve in different ways. There is the shout-throw-things way or the physically run-away style or the mentally withdrawn/catatonic type or someone who functions on the outside but is a mess inside, or the person who grieves but is prepared to move on. In David Lindsay Abaire’s play/film “Rabbit Hole,” we have a tragedy of losing a child and parents who don’t know how to cope. Through an accident, Becca (Nicole Kidman) and Howie (Aaron Eckhart) lost their young son and grieve in different ways. The film begins with Becca planting flowers in a garden. Her neighbor comes to invite Becca and Howie to an informal party, but Becca begs off. You sense something askew when the neighbor accidentally steps on one of the young plants, and Becca recoils. Death is everywhere, even in the flower bed. We go through the days with Becca and Howie and see that she stays at home keeping the house clean, while he is at work. They go to a grief therapy group and find couples who have been there for eight years, Gaby (Sandra Oh), being one of them. Becca has a profound statement to a couple who said that God took their child to be an angel. Becca’s comment is, “He’s God, why didn’t he just make another angel?” Shocked silence and Howie takes her out of the room. From then on, a definite schism is in the marriage, and they begin to lead two lives. Howie quietly goes back to the therapy group and Becca, by accident, sees the teenage boy who caused the death of her son. He doesn’t know her, so she starts to follow him, striking up conversations in the park and sitting outside his home like a stalker. Compounding these situations is Becca’s sister, Izzy (Tammy Blanchard) who is the wild child in the family and now pregnant. Their mother, Nat (Diane Weist), tries to help both daughters, but is caught in the middle of life and death. What happens next is unexpected. “Rabbit Hole” moves along at a gentle pace. The title comes from a comic book the young man has written. There isn’t a great deal of dialogue. And actually, you don’t need it as you can see how people handle grief---moving on, drugs, pretending, each human is different. The story delves into how much substance can hold a marriage together after a tragedy. Or, is there never enough? In "Rabbit Hole", secrets unfold as an aftermath of the boy's accidental death. The film was adapted from a play which I have not seen, so I don’t know the amount of dialogue there, but actor's body language and facial expressions speak volumes here. Kidman looks slumped and without purpose until she meets the young man. Eckhart looks like a coiled spring not knowing which direction to turn. Blanchard is a free spirit, bouncing in all directions, while Diane Weist tries to hold the family together. The color palette in the film is vibrant and this is a plus because color surrounds the actors and when there is warmth, the colors of their personas seems to glow. Acting is very well done, especially Nicole Kidman as Becca, who now has an Oscar nomination for this role. She has the deer-in-the-headlights look, just as in "The Others." It suits her well. Copyright 2011 Marie Asner
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