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.