'Rabbit Hole' Burrows into Parental Pain
June 20th 2011 07:22
Based on David Lindsay-Abaire’s Pulitzer winning play of the same name, Rabbit Hole takes viewers through the dark tunnel of life after the loss of a child. Directed by John Cameron Mitchell, the film stars Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart as parents struggling to cope after the sudden death of their five-year-old son, Danny.
Becca (Kidman) is angry and erratic, attempting to distance herself from the tragedy and memories of her son. After finding out that her sister, Izzy (Tammy Blanchard), is pregnant with an unplanned baby to her boyfriend, Auggie (Giancarlo Esposito), Becca’s unpredictable behaviour worsens until she finds solace with someone who shares her grief, and more importantly, her deep sense of guilt.
That person is not her husband, Howie (Eckhart). Desperate to keep memories of his son alive, Howie’s desire to hold on to the past clashes with Becca’s apparent need to erase it, causing conflict in the household and preventing the couple from healing each other’s pain. Instead, Howie turns to Gabby (Sandra Oh), a mother from a self-help group he attends, and her stash of marijuana.
While the cast is good (also includes Dianne Wiest as Becca’s mother), and the delineation of their grief is well portrayed, the stand out character is Jason (Miles Teller), the seventeen-year-old boy responsible for Danny’s death. Through him we see anguish from a different angle, that faced by an awkward teenager whose life is changed forever by a horrifying twist of fate.
NB: I very much enjoyed this film, though I saw it mid-air after too many hours without sleep and for some reason I was irrationally and repeatedly annoyed by the characters names – Becca, Howie, Izzy, Auggie? Tch! Don’t let that put you off.
Michaelie Clark
Kidman and Eckhart in Rabbit Hole - Image courtesy of hollywoodreporter.com
That person is not her husband, Howie (Eckhart). Desperate to keep memories of his son alive, Howie’s desire to hold on to the past clashes with Becca’s apparent need to erase it, causing conflict in the household and preventing the couple from healing each other’s pain. Instead, Howie turns to Gabby (Sandra Oh), a mother from a self-help group he attends, and her stash of marijuana.
Becca and Jason deal with guilt and grief - Image courtesy of moejackson.com
NB: I very much enjoyed this film, though I saw it mid-air after too many hours without sleep and for some reason I was irrationally and repeatedly annoyed by the characters names – Becca, Howie, Izzy, Auggie? Tch! Don’t let that put you off.
Michaelie Clark
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Comment by The Rusty Can
Everything
Sounds like an intriguing film, Mich, and I agree - what's with the names?!
Hope you've caught up on your sleep!
Comment by Michaelie Clark
Flick Wit
I'm glad you concur with me about the names - I feel less like I was being ridiculously irrational (or maybe we just have that in common).