Rated R - Running Time: 2:10 - Released 12/25/01
IN THE BEDROOM
Rated R - Running Time: 2:10 - Released 12/25/01
A sense of tension resonates through the entire length of Todd
Field's In the Bedroom, a chilling drama about murder and
its many repercussions in a quiet New England town. Field, in
his feature debut, shows a unique style in his choices of scene;
every angle seems to reveal more than first meets the eye, and
every pause seems to contain some important subtext. It almost
reminds me of a Kubrick film. The script, on the other hand, reminds
me of Pinter. Written by Robert Festinger and director Field,
from a story called Killings by the late Andre Dubus, it
deals with the desperate lengths to which one will go to erase
the memory of a tragic event, but the text is not simply a straightforward
account; it is weighted with the undercurrent of a lifetime of
withheld emotions and the consequence of things long left unsaid.
It features excellent, understated performances by Sissy Spacek,
Tom Wilkinson, and Marisa Tomei.
When we first meet Natalie (Tomei) and Frank (Nick Stahl),
they seem like a happy young couple with no cares in the world.
We soon learn, however, that Natalie, who is considerably older
than Frank, is not yet divorced from her estranged and hot-tempered
husband Richard (William Mapother), with whom she has two children.
Frank's mother Ruth (Spacek) doesn't approve of the relationship,
since Frank is supposed to be leaving for grad school in the fall
and he doesn't seem to be very serious about Natalie. His dad,
however, Dr. Matt Fowler (Wilkinson), doesn't see anything wrong
with Frank sowing a few wild oats during the summer before his
freshman year, and he enjoys having the kids around the house
anyway. But things turn serious when Richard decides he wants
to patch things up with Natalie and a scuffle between him and
Frank ends in murder. The family is plunged into a tense court
case in which Natalie is the only witness, and into the spotlight
of their small Maine town. An emotional wedge is driven between
Ruth and Matt, forcing them to confront issues about which they
have long remained silent, and they are finally driven to desperate
lengths to try to repair their disturbed tranquility and their
forever altered relationship.
This is a very slow-moving drama; the pace is deliberate, but
it seldom gets bogged down in pretentious stylistic gesticulation.
There are long sequences where Field's camera switches between
angles with no sound, giving telling glimpses of the characters,
the situation, and/or the scenery, saying volumes without anyone
uttering a word. Wilkinson and Spacek, reserved though they are,
deftly portray the undercurrent of frustration and resentment
that has been simmering below the surface of their marriage for
years, waiting for an event such as this to set it off. Tomei
is flustered, torn, and beautifully disheveled; her delivery is
flawless as the unwanted stepdaughter of the older couple, suddenly
out of her league in emotional and psychological depth. Her presence
is the reason for much of the trouble between Matt and Ruth—and
in fact for the film's main conflict—and she is painfully
aware of this.
Good performances by Stahl, Mapother, and the rest of the supporting cast pull the film together as a whole greater than the sum of its parts. Field has distinguished himself well in his first feature outing, as have his co-writers, and Spacek and Wilkinson and Tomei prove themselves equal to the challenge of bringing his vision to the screen. ****½