Sex and the City 2

Sex and the City 2

2/5

Director: Michael Patrick King

Starring: Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Kristen Davis, Cynthia Nixon

It has been two years, as Carrie Bradshaw Preston (Sarah Jessica Parker) correctly points out, since the wedding debacle that had millions of women worldwide all glued to the screen wondering whether Carrie and Mr. Big (Chris Noth) would finally get their happy ending. And surprise, surprise, they did, in a simple, humble ceremony down at city hall. Samantha (Kim Cattrall), Charlotte (Kristen Davis), and Miranda (Cynthia Nixon) had their own issues to deal with but were all resolved towards the end of the tiresome two-hour long first feature film of the HBO's hit television show. And they all lived happily ever after - or so we'd hoped. But these fashionable, gold-digging, shallow ladies who have overdosed on Botox are back. They have a new set of problems to sort out, and whenever they get together for their fancy brunch, all they do is complain. They whine, they moan and the only sense of relaxation for them is to purchase things. Nice new clothes, expensive jewellery, fancy new furniture and of course, cocktails.

Carrie is somewhat bored of her married life. Two years have passed, and apparently the spark has gone. Big is old, tired and wants to spend evenings staying indoors, watching television. Carrie on the other hand, wants glamour - basically she wants to spend boatloads of money as usual. Her house is a sight to behold, full of luxurious furniture imported from abroad. But ah, money can't buy happiness. Remember Carrie, from the first film? Our ditzy heroine never learns. It's unclear what it is she wants from a marriage, and we don't blame Big for being completely stumped. Samantha is afraid of ageing. She is at the menopausal age of 52, and is taking a ridiculous amount of pills in order to "trick [her] body into thinking it's younger." Her sex life has never been better - she stills jumps on anything that's good-looking and young. She even manages to get laid at a gay wedding. Charlotte has two children to raise now, and her life seems to be falling apart. No surprises there, since this girl basically grew up knowing nothing of responsibility. She hires a nanny, a superhot one, and even then she doesn't have much spare time for herself. Basically she just doesn't have a lot of time to go shopping. The nanny naturally doesn't wear a bra and is becoming an eye-candy to her husband Harry (Evan Handler). Uh-oh, Charlotte's getting insecure. Miranda hates her job more than anything. Her sexist boss is well...sexist. She quits, and now has to look for another one.

There's not a whole lot of sex in this "Sex and the City 2." So how do the writers handle the "City" part? The girls do get a change of scenery. They fly from New York to Abu Dhabi, a trip that Samantha organised thanks to her ex-boyfriend Smith Jerrod (Jason Lewis in a cameo appearance) and his movie investors. The trip is first-class from the start, and even better, the girls don't need to pay for anything. And from this moment on, what we get is a shameless display of contemptuous consumerism; so much over the top luxury, so many costume changes that occur every five minutes for the four leading characters, so much glitter all over the place that make some of the scenery more tacky than impressive.

What do these ladies get up to in Abu Dhabi? They shop. They ride on camels. They go to fancy restaurants. They stare at men. They reveal cleavage and where there is cleavage, bulges follow. And yes, we get unpleasant close-ups of tight crotches. The Australian World Cup team also happens to be in Abu Dhabi, and they are all wild, wearing Speedos and up for a good swim - an excuse for the director (Michael Patrick King) to show off nude men. It's vulgar and repulsive, but the ladies dig the action. Three out of four of them are married, but who cares - they're in different countries. Speaking of dirty looks and things that can potentially destroy a marriage, Carrie runs into Aidan (John Corbett), an ex-boyfriend who was with her for quite a while. He's married and so is she. So the logical thing to do is...um...they have dinner together. You know, to reminisce over the good old days. Will Carrie be won over by Aidan's charms? Or will she remember that she does in fact have a husband back in New York who she swore to honour, cherish and obey till death do them part? Only time will tell.

Moving the "City" from New York to Abu Dhabi turns out to be a shockingly bad idea. The film cannot resist displaying a whole range of Middle Eastern stereotypes that clash with the more outgoing, flamboyant culture. Samantha gets arrested for kissing on the beach. She is also scolded by a group of angry men in a marketplace for carrying around condoms. She also attracts disapproving eyes for her insanely revealing clothes. You're in someone else's country, you play by their rules. But does she ever listen? No. She yells and swears, the good old American way, and infuriates the angry mob even more. It's when the girls get rescued by a bunch of Arab women that the film starts to take even weirder turns. In private, these Middle Eastern women reveal what's underneath the Burkhas - the latest collection from famous brands. So they're wearing two pretty thick layers. Must get incredibly hot - it's a miracle they can stand up and walk around in the middle of an Arabian dessert. With every culture shock these characters run into, naivety soon follows. It's offensive, insensitive and represents everything people hate about America. They're vastly superior, and dismiss other beliefs and cultural importance - it's so clearly shown through the four women.

Parker, Cattrall, Davis and Nixon have grown into their characters so much over the years that it would be odd to see them play anyone else. See how awkward it was to watch Cattrall in "The Ghost"? They play the characters well, capturing their unique personalities with no difficulty. There are some effective comedic moments, thanks largely to the outrageous characteristics of our four leading ladies, but the laughs are brief, and very limited. The brief cameo appearance from Penelope Cruz is random and somewhat meaningless, Liza Minnelli proves she is still in full control of her stage presence, and Miley Cyrus can pull off a dress better than Cattrall. It's glamorous, shiny, and has a bigger scale than the first film. But the thin material with trivial sub-plots and hateful characters is spread over such an unbearably long running time. Strictly for fans only, this won't win any newcomers over.

Eat Pray Love

Eat Pray Love

3/5

Director: Ryan Murphy

Starring: Julia Roberts, Javier Bardem, James Franco

If you happen to have an ounce of cynicism in your body, avoid this like the plague. Because for the cynics amongst you, "Eat Pray Love" will no doubt be the most self-indulgent, self-satisfied and self-important film you will see all year. But for those who are truly romantics at heart, one woman's pretty looking journey across the colourful globe to find the meaning of life, searching for a true connection, physical, mental and spiritual, will be something to marvel at, admire and cherish. Is she brave for venturing out into the world, following her dreams? Or is she simply deluding herself and being selfish, materialistic and falling into excessive consumerism? Are the problems in her life really that big of a deal? The film's theme will no doubt split the audience and it's not something that appeals to a wide demographic.

Liz (Julia Roberts) is a middle-aged woman going through a divorce after disastrous years of trying to make her marriage work and is looking for some sort of consolation from a much younger man (James Franco). But the love affair is cooling off significantly, and she is once again left alone, bored and unenthusiastic about life. She needs a change of scenery, and being a travel writer, she decides to take an entire year out to do some effective soul-searching. Her first destination is Rome, where she is to do some eating. Then she plans to move on to India, a place suited for praying. Finally, she will end the year in Bali, Indonesia, where she may, just may, find the much-needed love in her life. 

It is hard to make a film out of a book that relies heavily on internal monologue. "Eat Pray Love" is based on an enormously popular bestseller written by Elizabeth Gilbert whose autobiography was an instant hit for the readers. She was looking for balance and the meaning of true happiness, and before we are able to see Julia Roberts going on the rather expensive looking trip (which Gilbert's publisher paid for in advance, a bit of detail the film decides to ignore completely for some reason), the film needs to establish that Liz is going through hell and is leading a miserable existence. This is where the casting of Roberts really pays off. Roberts, being the international superstar that she is, does not disappoint in her "solo comeback" (this is the first time she has had to carry a film by herself in nearly 7 years), with her subtle glances of sadness and vulnerability setting an effective tone at the beginning of the film. She is essentially depressed and needs something different in her life. She has spent years worrying about her future, and now she needs to have fun.

And it's a timeout that anyone would die for. In Rome she decides to stop worrying about gaining weight. She's in Italy, there are sumptuous dishes of pizza and pasta and she is not about to let a few pounds from enjoying the endless amount of fantastic food that is on offer. She does need to buy a few more pairs of jeans that fit the grown waist but who cares when the food tastes that great? There's a particularly memorable scene where Roberts tucks into a rather simple looking Spaghetti Pomodoro, which in fact, turns out to be amazing. Accompanied by "Der Hölle Rache," the famous Queen of the Night aria from Mozart's "The Magic Flute," the scene will make your tummy growl as Roberts slowly but surely finds a brief moment of true happiness with that plate of Spaghetti. 

Then she's off to India, where she stays in a Hindu temple, finding peace, praying, trying to connect with God. But being a Western woman, it's not easy to sit still, pause, and meditate for hours and hours. There are flies to distract her and she has too much going on inside her head which doesn't help since the whole point of meditation is to clear your head of any unnecessary, complex thoughts. Time literally seems to stop and each minute feels like an hour for our heroine. But like most events in this film, as enough time goes by, she gets immensely good, almost too good, at everything. Sure she does have some help. She meets a friendly man from Texas, Richard (Richard Jenkins), who helps her get rid of the burdens that are pressing down hard on her shoulders. Jenkins provides the only stand-out supporting performance and in one intimate scene that is handled perfectly by the often underrated and underused actor, his monologue will surely tug at the heartstrings. The friendship between the two is often humourous as well as deeply moving, and a lot of credit should go to Jenkins.

Good-looking men surround Gilbert during her travels, most noticeably in Bali. She almost hooks up with a man who must be at least ten years younger than the middle-aged divorcee, but the one that threatens to steal her heart is the conveniently divorced Felipe (Javier Bardem), whose business apparently lets him be wherever he wants to be (his words). So the audience is confused when he also goes on to say that his business is in Bali, so he cannot leave when Gilbert eventually plans to. Other than that slight hiccup, Felipe seems to be the perfect man for her. He's loving, caring, a great kisser...basically he's got the full package. Gilbert took this trip to be away from complications, to liberate herself, but it appears she needs a man after all to keep her happy. She visits Ketut, a medicine man whom she visited before and his words of wisdom supposedly give her Balance. She finds security and stability at long last.

Despite the excessive use of voiceovers, the film fails to show any depth relating to this woman's year-long journey. It has a lengthy running time, but spends very little bit of it trying to explain to us just how some of the events occur. The disjointed feel is partly the editor's fault, but also the careless script should also share the blame. So she's praying in India. What about? She connects with God on some level. How? She finds Balance in Bali. Again, how? By doing some charity work and raising money for a pharmacist who cannot afford to buy her own place? The soul-searching; did she succeed in the end? Was Felipe it? The whole point of the trip? The message is never clear, and the film tends to forget a lot about the previous places Gilbert had been to. When she's in India, she forgets all about Rome, when she's in Bali, India is history. The calm, soothing voice of Julia Roberts tries to explain everything. And there are some philosophical elements that try to give clever answers to the many questions that have been opened in the beginning. Because director Ryan Murphy is so focused on showing solely the beautiful, breathtaking aspect of her adventure, all that "Eat Pray Love" boils down to is nothing but a shallow and sweeping drama with a fantastic leading actress but not much else.

Another Year

Another Year

5/5

Director: Mike Leigh

Starring: Jim Broadbent, Lesley Manville, Ruth Sheen

What can be so interesting about an old but loving married couple who could not be happier with their lives? Well, according to Mike Leigh, the director of one of this year's best films, quite a lot. It's the people around them that present all the deep, complex emotional problems. In a film that is separated over one year, the four seasons bring about four unique episodes of supporting characters with their own struggles. For Tom (Jim Broadbent) and Gerri (Ruth Sheen), the blissfully married couple, the coming year is just...well..."another year," but a year can bring out so much pain in others, pain that they have to acknowledge and ultimately, deal with.

Fulfilling jobs (He's a geologist, she's a medical counsellor), nice soothing hobbies, stable home, healthy conversations, great meals are what make up Tom and Gerri's successful marriage. But just because they're living the picture-perfect life, it doesn't mean their friends are. Take Gerri's colleague Mary (Lesley Manville) for example; after a string of unsuccessful relationships including some failed marriages, she is lonely, and knocking back glasses of wine is a common occurrence for her sad existence. She has not given up hope, and is convinced that men are still interested in her. She eventually sets her eyes on Tom and Gerri's only son Joe (Oliver Maltman), and is quite naturally bitter and devastated when he brings around a young, attractive, perky fiancée (Karina Fernandez) home one day.

So many of the events seen in "Another Year" seem uninteresting, an everyday happening that takes place all around us. A male/female friend visiting for dinner, a son visiting for a few days, Tom's sister-in-law passing away etc...but Leigh makes sure that every single event means something significant and with the film's central theme of company and loneliness, each seasonal episode is there to bring about new revelations and new characters that make a significant impact on the general flow of the film's narrative.

Tom and Gerri are great to those around them. No matter how annoying or slightly inappropriate some of their friends may be, they tolerate them with all their heart. Mary, all alone with her tiny car she drives so nervously, goes on and on (always with a large glass of wine in one of her hands, of course) about the most insignificant details of her life. She gets chattier and makes even less sense when drunk. Her rambling may be hysterical at first, but as she continues her blabbering, the audience is given enough time and invasive close-up shots to realise just how hopeless the character is. Manville arguably gives the best performance in a film full of outstanding ones. She brings out enough humour from her character but every facial expression on her face reminds us of something more depressing and desperate. She may not be a likable character, but is someone you can feel sympathy for. Manville magically transforms this otherwise hateful spinster into a victim of chronic loneliness. The film's final moment is focused solely on Manville and no one else. The camera stays on the actress' face for a good few minutes. With no music or background dialogue, Manville alone is perfectly able to portray the fear and worry for the tragedy that no doubt awaits her. Hollywood has never been too kind to British performers and although Manville deserves a Best Supporting Actress Oscar and many more awards of its kind more than anyone this year, it's highly unlikely she will win. But she should clear some space on her shelves for some UK awards she is bound to win.

Yet another struggling victim is Ken (Peter Wight), a heavy-drinking (He downs three glasses of wine and a can of beer as Tom and Gerri gracefully enjoy their first glasses of wine), heavy-eating (Vegetables? No thank you) and heavy-smoking lad in his 60's who has obviously been alone for far too long; he tries to find some sort of deep companionship with Mary, something that ends with a hysterical outcome. He tries to put on a brave face to start with, but as he opens up more and more about his personal life, even the tough exterior cannot keep his tears from flooding out. His breakdown scene is handled beautifully, with Wight's highly sentimental, teary portrayal and the warm-hearted Gerri walking over to his side, hugging him.

Another brief but powerful section of the film takes place when Tom, Gerri and Joe visit Ronnie (David "Argus Filch" Bradley), Tom's older brother, after his wife passes away. Bradley, as can be expected, is in shock, in total withdrawal from society and people. He is leading a ghost-like existence, and with the help of Tom's family, barely gets himself together to finally say goodbye to his wife. The funeral is going smoothly in a depressingly empty church, until Ronnie's rebellious, hooligan-looking son Carl (Martin Savage) struts in almost at the end of the service. Carl obviously has a lot of issues and uncontrollable sense of anger towards his father who he deems unfit and pathetic. Savage only appears for a short scene, but his powerful presence is an unforgettable one, and his no-nonsense, audacious performance is one that sticks to the mind, because of how much chaos and terror his single character brings into an otherwise peaceful, mourning household.

Mike Leigh's go-to cinematographer Dick Pope once again works his magic here creating beautiful scenery of the four seasons set largely around the house of Tom and Gerri. He moves the audience from one season to another with elegance, portraying each season with utmost care to fit the various events that are prepared for us.

Rich with low-key, often subtle but hugely effective humour as well as some heart-wrenching drama, "Another Year" is one of Leigh's finest works of his career. The title and general gist of the film may be off-putting for some for being "too British." And yes, this is as British as they come, but it's simply outstanding because of it. With its ups and downs, laughs and tears, "Another Year" is the note-perfect human drama that examines closely but never takes itself far too seriously.

The Tourist

The Tourist

1.5/5

Director: Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck

Starring: Johnny Depp, Angelina Jolie

Films with absurd, preposterous plots need to keep the audience interested by at least making things sassy, snappy and action-packed. The script needs sly, witty humour at every corner, action scenes need to dazzle the screen and the actors involved in the film need to click, and be charismatic enough to make us care. "The Tourist" is a film that ticks none of these boxes, which is why even with the two biggest names in the film industry as its leads (Johnny Depp!!! Angelina Jolie!!!), it turns into a deadly boring, slow, unappealing film that tries to juggle sex, guns, money and betrayals to no successful outcome.

Jolie is Elise Ward, a beautiful woman with that classic femme fatale grin that lets you know instantly that she's hiding something. What has she done? It's unclear at this point but it appears she is under surveillance from the British government. The surveillance involves the most conspicuous van following Ms. Ward around in the French capital, through the narrow streets, only a few metres behind her. Only an idiot wouldn't notice such a sloppy bit of work. But Elise doesn't seem to care. She heads to a café for her usual breakfast where she indirectly receives a mysterious letter from Alexander Pearce. Her mission is to board a train to Venice, find a man similar to Pearce's build, and to fool the authorities into believing that the innocent man is in fact Pearce. Oh, and Pearce seems to be her lover.

Silly enough for you? It gets a lot more free-spirited which again, would have been fine if there were enough entertaining material to back all of it up. On the train Elise has a good look at the men around her. She chooses Frank (Depp), an American maths teacher. Here it helps that Elise is darn good-looking. Frank falls for her instantly and it only takes seconds before he is doing everything she asks him to. Soon they're travelling together, booking into the same hotel room, having meals etc. So she succeeds in her mission. People think Frank is Alexander Pearce. A British agent chasing after Pearce doesn't quite fall for this little trick but he's the least of Elise's problems. It turns out Pearce stole quite a large sum from a dangerous gangster. Over 2 billion pounds to be more exact (it's never explained to us just how someone manages to run off with that kind of money). The boss is obviously angry and has a lot of hired Russian men (whenever there's hired muscle, they're always Russian for some reason) with guns at his disposal. And of course he gathers enough evidence to be convinced that Frank is the man he wants. Frank's life spirals out of control as grumpy-looking agents start chasing him all over the beautiful city for something he never did. 

With two appealing leads, great location, plot points echoing those of "North by Northwest," it all sounds very exciting. But Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck has seemingly achieved the impossible. He found the most useless way of spending 100 million dollars. There is absolutely nothing fun about this supposed thriller. There are two action scenes, both as pathetic and effortless as one another. One sees Depp running on rooftops in his pyjamas. Well, he doesn't run, he jogs. He is chased by men with guns. There is no sense of urgency though, it's slow, lifeless and not in the least bit inventive. It's so useless at creating any sense of pace that sometimes you forget that Depp is actually running for his life. The boat chase is not much better. Through the narrow streams of Venice, boats could have crashed, or at least bumped into something. But no, the boats gently glide along at a morbid pace with both Jolie and Depp looking surprisingly relaxed. Gunshots are fired but the result...wait for it...is a few broken windows. Two boats are tied together. So? When the camera moves so slowly, and when the sequence itself is so unimaginative, it doesn't matter how many boats are involved. It's pure laziness.

Whenever Jolie walks by a crowd of men, they all stop, admire her beauty and can't take their eyes off her. Jolie has rarely looked better in a film - so well-dressed, well-accessorised - but it appears that is all she does in this film. Look fantastic. She's an excellent actress in the right roles, but the only acting skill she gets to show is her English accent, which is actually quite good. Other than that, she stands around in "ravishing" dresses, giving us mysterious stares and ambiguous looks that try to add something juicy into the otherwise dry film. Depp is just the brainless idiot with puppy-dog eyes following Jolie with his tongue hanging out. It's an unclear role and even Depp looks confused as to what the heck he's doing, a mutual feeling that is also shared by the audience.

There is no real spark between the two and the drab script has a lot of responsibility to take. There isn't a single exchange between our two good-looking characters that triggers a laugh, smile or any sense of attraction. Elise asks for his name. He says Frank. She hits back with "that's a terrible name." Was this supposed to be the cornerstone of playful banter? It's not sexy, it's not even remotely funny, and as the film goes on it would be safe to say that the writers simply gave up on trying to give these actors something interesting to share. The pace refuses to move along, as there are awkward pauses, silences, and none of them for good reasons.

And what's up with the ridiculous score? The composer in charge of the soundtrack (James Newton Howard) must have thought that he was providing music for a fairytale romance. A lot of it sounds too light and immature, not cheeky or stylish enough. Aside from not suiting its lavish surroundings, the magnificent stars seem completely separate from the detached score. Even in the "action sequences" the music doesn't even think of coming up with anything remotely exciting, and does nothing to even slightly improve the already struggling action element of the film.

The big twist that attempts to redeem what little dignity left in the film also falls flat as there have been far too many hints and obvious red herrings that make the audience look elsewhere for answers. This is never good since nine times out of ten, the audience will figure out the big mystery long before the film decides to solve it. Was this the most disappointing film of 2010? Most likely. There have been lots of awful films as always, but none came with the same level of expectation "The Tourist" did. Hopefully an ignorable blip on both Jolie and Depp's usually above-average film choices. And as for von Donnersmarck, perhaps he over-extended himself with an alarmingly high budget and didn't really know how to cope with all the Hollywood style. Go back to the place that allowed you to make your outstanding "The Lives of Others." We need more films like that; and you'll be more respected because of it.

Rabbit Hole

Rabbit Hole

4/5

Director: John Cameron Mitchell

Starring: Nicole Kidman, Aaron Eckhart, Dianne Wiest

Losing a child is never easy, especially when it's an innocent four year-old boy who was only chasing his dog around. A car comes along, the dog and boy both jump out onto the street, the driver panics, the car swerves, hits the child and he's gone. Whose fault is it? Who is to blame here? It's clearly not a black-and-white situation, but who cares, the boy is still dead. It has been eight months since the horrible accident took their little boy, but Becca (Nicole Kidman) and Howie (Aaron Eckhart) are still struggling to move on. Everything in the house reminds them of him; the pictures on the fridge, the clothes in his room, the home-videos, and even the fingerprints on the door-knobs.

How we go about dealing with our grief is the focal point of the film. Group grief counseling is the most obvious first-step, something Becca doesn't quite agree with. Especially when someone brings up the idea of God. God needed another angel? It's a nice theory one of the mothers comes up with. Becca's response? "He's God. Why didn't he just make another angel?" Good point Becca, it's time to leave the group both for your and the others' sake. Howie tries to make an effort and finds a sympathetic ear in a fellow grief therapy member Gaby (Sandra Oh). Yes, she is a woman and Howie is a depressed individual. The sex life between Howie and Becca has long gone. There is a potential for an affair storyline - will he or won't he? Thankfully the film doesn't drag this out or dwell on the idea for too long.

Relationships have taken an awkward turn for everyone around this unfortunate couple. Becca cannot even bear to look at the dog her son chased so off it goes to her mother's (Dianne Wiest) house. Becca also has a younger sister Izzy (Tammy Blanchard), a more free-spirited soul who recently became pregnant. Becca is happy for her sister, but has a little trouble expressing her joy. Becca wants to give her son's old clothes away and prompts her sister to take them - but it's understandably "too weird" and the offer is quite rightly declined. The characters seem to have gone back to their normal lives - Howie plays squash with his colleague, he goes to work, Becca cooks, talks to her neighbours, reads, runs her errands. But it's the little events such as the one above that reminds us that there is no way to get permanently past the painful loss. The moments come suddenly during everyday activities and the effects are deeply felt.

Kidman and Eckhart are outstanding in the lead roles as the mostly quietly grieving parents. The characters go about dealing with the situation in their own different ways which is why even in the calm scenes with no dialogue their performances are just as important. They play familiar characters; the husband is usually the one who seems to hold together fine, whereas the wife is the more emotional one who can make rash decisions as to how to cope with her child's death. What the two of them don't say to each other is just as damaging to the pair's marriage as what they have to say to one another in a rare intense argument. And there is a particularly memorable louder scene in which a lot of the film's issues and the characters' troubles are summed up. It's a beautifully written scene, brought to the screen by two hugely effective actors. Kidman has shown intensity before, so the real surprise here is Eckhart, who brings the performance of his career to the film.

Becca's odd relationship with the teenage driver who accidentally killed her son also develops - it's awkward and uncomfortable to watch at first, and you wonder whether a thing like this is ever possible in real-life, but as Becca spends more time with Jason (Miles Teller), sitting on a bench in a nearby park, sharing, receiving a sincere apology that clearly came from the heart, it feels like the start of a beautiful friendship, something achieved, in part, by the talents of Kidman and the newcomer Teller.

Everything sounds like a big downer. But surprisingly, given the heavy, tear-jerking themes it deals with, "Rabbit Hole" can be amusing at times. Never inappropriately; so nothing twisted, sick or unpredictable - a lot of the smiling moments stem from what we are all used to. A lot of the lighter moments involve the supporting characters who are all wonderful in their roles. Wiest plays the mother's role to perfect, Oscar-worthy precision providing some off-beat humour as well as carefully interacting with Kidman's character stirring up even more sympathy. Wiest's character is also given some background story of her own to tell, something that mirrors what Becca and Howie are going through, and that extra strand of narrative fits in nicely with the rest of the film. Oh, who is exceptional in all the roles she takes on is once again the brave, straight-talking, charismatic supporting actress who makes a lasting impression.

There are familiar elements galore on display here. The classic grieving music score of simple guitar plucking accompanied by the occasional piano playing dominates the soundtrack and there is the inevitable flashback scene that shows us in slow-motion the accident that started this chain of events to begin with. But a lot of this is tastefully handled without trying to squeeze out as much tear as possible. The flashback scene in particular is a focus entirely on Kidman at odd angles and zooms that immediately paints the chaotic atmosphere.

"Rabbit Hole" deals with a tough subject matter, something that cannot be handled lightly. But it is a pleasant watch - despite the difficult tone it does remain likeable throughout and the film's perceptive, careful look at a range of characters is impressive with stellar performances to back up the good material. The film is not without its hopeful moments, and does end on a high note, which will be good news for all the audience members who have spent the entire running time of the film truly engaging with the broken couple.