Rabbit Hole (2010, U.S.)

This film was very difficult to watch, but really quite superb. I suppose in essence it is a domestic drama, because it is about the state of a marriage following the accidental death of a young child. Howie wants to go to group therapy and watch home videos and maintain his son's presence even in his absence. Becca, who left her job at Sotheby's to be a mother and is stuck at home all day, would rather hide the physical evidence of their son's life, forgoing therapy. Instead, she finds herself following the teenager who hit four-year-old Danny with his car; eventually, they begin meeting. While each spouse is trying to heal in their own way, their marriage is suffering.

To begin with, the script was very well-written. It's obvious to me why the original play won the 2007 Pulitzer. (Side note: the writing definitely feels like a play with the minimal number of characters and simple settings, sort of like 2005's Prime.) Eckhart and Kidman were phenomenal, and they made already strong writing simply leap off the screen. Their broken moments, their fights, their falling away from each other, their tentative attempts at physical intimacy, their reactions to things as little as a broken flower in the garden or as big as the dog their son was chasing into the road that fateful day... simply incredible acting. I've always thought highly of Nicole Kidman, and I'm beginning to build quite a favorable opinion of Aaron Eckhart as well. (From dry comedy in Thank You for Smoking to the fabulous portrayal of Two Face in The Dark Knight, he's making quite the impression on me.)

I quite enjoyed the score as well, which was at times sad and at times hopeful, perfectly expressing the film's emotions and adding to a truly heart-wrenching story. Wonderful stuff.

Rating: 4.0

Remember Me (2010, U.S.)

I was absolutely stunned to discover that most professional critics ripped this film apart. It was absolutely astounding.

Essentially, two young people who have suffered terrible losses find each other and fall in love. Ally saw her mother murdered when she was 10 years old, and Tyler (whose 22nd birthday is approaching) had an older brother who committed suicide on his 22nd birthday. Ally's father has become overly protective while Tyler's parents divorced and his father especially emotionally distanced himself from his surviving children. Tyler is close to his young sister, a shy brainy girl whose classmates torture her.

The characters were so incredibly real. I've always said that Robert Pattinson is a seriously underrated actor (inevitable, due to his roles as Cedric Diggory and especially Edward Cullen). (See The Haunted Airman for further evidence.) He was Tyler in this film—frustrated, lost, alone, a good brother, a bit of a mess, imperfect but still a basically good person. Emilie de Ravin wasn't overwhelming by any means when contrasted with Pattinson, but she is still a fairly strong actress and convincingly portrayed a fragile girl trying to find herself and redefine her identity without hurting her father too much. The rest of the cast was also great, though what else would you expect from the likes of Pierce Brosnan and Lena Olin? The real stunner was the young actress who played Tyler's younger sister. Her performance just defies description; you have to see it to believe it.

Ally had a thing about eating her dessert before her meal, because anything could happen and she might not make it to the main course. The filmmakers seemed to make such a big deal of it that I kept running over it in my mind and found the heart of the story. This is a film about loss and living life as if each day will be your last. About learning from grief and embracing each day and appreciating each person that comes into your life. It's hard to say more without giving away the ending, but a lot of critics said that this film was just a series of tragic things happening to beautiful people. That sounds like the kind of opinion I would be prone to have, and yet I didn't. Even with an ending that was incredibly cliche and, in retrospect, totally obvious, I still thought it worked well.

Aside from fantastic acting, the subtle score, gritty New York scenery, touches of humor, and good writing really made this a stunning film. So take that, Roger Ebert.

Rating: 5.0