Marcia Degia - PublisherA bit of a depressing tale this one – a US golden, couple living
the suburban dream until the untimely death of their young son. The film
jumps in, several months thereafter, in the midst of their grief.
Becca (Kidman) and Howie (Eckhart) are the bereaved
parents of 4-year-old Danny who met his fate by running into the street
and getting slammed by a car. Trying to come to terms with their
despair, they start attending a grief group for parents who havve lost
children air their pain. Becca is not so keen on the open sharing of
pain and soon pulls out of the group leaving Howie to get a little to
close with one of the group’s member Gaby (Oh). Meanwhile, Becca
secretly turns her attention to Jason (Teller), the teen responsible for
mowing down their son – or at least was the unfortunate person behind
the wheel. It was an accident as the kid chased after the family dog.
No-one can deny that the film is well directed (John Cameron Mitchell – Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Shortbus) and the subject matter is handled quite sensitively. Certainly, it’s clear how Kidman’s performance won her a Tony Award, and nominations for both The Golden Globes (pipped to the post by Natalie Portman)
and the forthcoming Oscars, to be held on 27th February. However, based
on a play that itself garnered the Pulitzer prize, the narrative
perhaps fails to translate onto screen despite the best efforts of David Lindsay-Abaire who scribed both.
As to be expected, we see the characters go through the
different stages of grief, dealing with it in their own way. Perhaps not
one for the upcoming Valentine’s day and perhaps a little to raw for
anyone who is sensitive to the subject. Not an easy one to get through but beautifully honest in its treatment of grief.
Nicole Kidman Talks About The Film
