Short Review: Rabbit Hole (Cameron Mitchell, 2010)
December 15th 2010 04:02
Rabbit Hole (2010, Cameron Mitchell)
Written December 14, 2010
Rabbit Hole is an uncompromising look at an unthinkable situation and how one copes when your life is suddenly turned upside down. Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart flawlessly portray Becca and Howie, a couple afflicted by horrific tragedy. John Cameron Mitchell directs a brilliantly restrained adaptation of screenwriter David Lindsay-Abaire’s award winning play. The film is gorgeously paced, allowing us to inhabit the world of these characters, to experience their feelings with them without any amount of manipulation or forced nature.
Lindsay-Abaire adds some interesting expansions to his source material that are intricate to the story. If you have read the play prior to seeing the film, these additions are seamless; each seen could have fit easily into the play. In his adaptation, Lindsay-Abaire takes us out of Becca and Howie’s house and into the world – he’s taken us into cars, bowling alleys, and libraries. In the film’s pivotal scene, Kidman and Eckhart are astounding; Eckhart’s pain and rage is translucent and accessible. Kidman’s performance is more complex and not easily definable.
An essential character is Jason, whose identity is hidden from the audience at the start but is easily uncovered if one tries. An important difference from the play to the script is that it’s Becca who seeks out Jason and not the other way around; that Jason is someone who is just as messed up the current state of affairs. Another expansion is Howie’s interactions with another parent from group (Sandra Oh), which is only barely brushed on in the play. Ultimately, Lindsay-Abarie’s adaptation of his own play is weighty -- sadder. The changes he makes are curious to his original vision, but each adds a different layer of depth. In turn, Cameron Mitchell doesn’t strive for easy resolution.
Lindsay-Abaire and Mitchell have constructed a situation that is palpable and hard-hitting, but also framed around spurts of humor. Rabbit Hole is a brutally honest portrayal of grief and figuring out how to deal. There isn’t a right way or a wrong way – there are just ways. The goal is to still be able to coexist -- to find some common ground besides your loss.
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