Customer Reviews

In the Bedroom (Sans issue)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Today's Hollywood has produced movies that appear to be made behind a computer screen. Enough special effects. In a time when movies are made to earn millions of dollars based strictly on advertising, endorsements, or cool fx, In The Bedroom is a fantastic and refreshing movie with the emphasis on acting and dialogue rather than what can be done with a green screen. The script is incredible and the beauty of the movie lies in its simplicity and near perfect grasp on reality. This movie is true--made solely with diagetic sound (no musical score/only sound natural to the picture). Similar to the stage works of Kenneth Lonergan, this movie brilliantly develops every character and shows the haunting reality of a situation the characters themselves do not know how to handle. Beautifully done and very intellectually orchestrated. See it!

I liked the plot and the acting was excellent,but I was very dissapointed with this movie. It was too drawn out. I was expecting more, due to the great reviews,but I wasn't too impressed. All of the action was in the first half hour then it was about an hour of reactions just wacthing the parents ignore each other, a little action in the end, and it's over. I really didn't get what was so great about it.

I loved it ... my girlfriend fell asleep . This is the 2 major reactions for this film . If you like slow but very deep story ; if you ever lost a loved one ; if you understand the harsh reality of a little detail , painfully striking you deep into your hart ; if you prefer exellent cinematography insted of digital graphics - this is your film .
Small East coast town , usual people , usual little problems ... and tragedy strikes . The only son is killed by the ex of his girlfriend . But legal sistem works at it best , and killer still on the street . Parenths of the dead boy se him everywhere in this little town . What would you do ?
The moments of this movie , which shocked me the most :
First - when father walked in the son's room ... camera slowly shows the close on the floor , short on the chear ...the pillow with a headprint still on it ... he touches it ... and I swear , I felt the pain .
Second - when father faced the killer on the street. He looks at him ... slowly lookes down... and lookes back at him with the same speed as he rises hand with a gun .
And last one - when father quietly walks back to the bedroom... we shocked by surprise - his wife is awake and waiting in the bad ... few quiet seconds ... Did you do it ? - we shocked by her question as much as he was .
PS: For some reason , this film reminded me " Ice Storm ". You really understand what you have , only when the tragedy strikes .

This film is as close to perfection as you can get. There is not one moment, one shot, or one line that lacks a definite purpose in this achingly beautiful, yet chilling film. Spacek and Wilkinson are amazing. Marissa Tomei perfectly underplays the role of Natalie, the catalyst to the story. As you watch this film, you know Frank (Nick Stahl) and Natalie's relationship is genuine, yet fragile and dangerous. The suspense builds slowly and effectively. The ultimate tragedy however pales in comparison to what follows next.

William Mapother and Celia Weston (remember her from the sit-com Alice?) head a strong supporting cast.

You can see the tremendous care Todd Field put in scenic design, shot selection and character development. These people seem so real. I felt like I was intruding upon a true story.

I am a huge movie fan, and rarely does a film move me to the point of constant reflection. This is one of those films. I will never forget it.

This film had almost no likeable characters, and, of the ones who were likeable: they were characters you feel so very sorry for.

Other reviewers have described the plot and the characters, so I'll skip those, but I want to say something about how realistic many of the characters (and dialogue) are. The bitterness, the unreasonable expectations, trying to not disappoint others, trying to not let anyone down... crazy-making at it's best (or should I say at it's worst?)

If you're sensitive to so-called "domestic violence" (violence is violence, duh... the label of "domestic" makes it sound like everyone is wearing a frilly apron and making cookies) or injustice, or if you've lost a loved one to violence or if you're a parent who has lost a child you may want to give this film a miss.

If you're a Tom Wilkinson fan, this is a must-see.

As the story opens in a Maine lobster town, we meet young Matt Fowler, home from college for the summer, who has fallen in love with an older divorcee with two children. Although Matt says it's not serious, his parents are worried. And the woman's ex-husband is a violent man.

The title, "In the Bedroom," refers not to torrid love scenes but is slang for "lobster traps;" early on we learn that if two male lobsters are "in the bedroom" with a female, the males will tear each other apart. That's the plot, in a nutshell. Tom Wilkerson and Sissy Spacek play Matt's parents; he's good in a stiff-upper-lip way, but she didn't convince me she was a grieving mother at all. Nick Stahl is quite good as the young man in love and William Mapother ("Ethan" in Lost) is absolutely chilling as the brutal ex-husband.

While the grieving process is honestly portrayed with its silences, recriminations, and desire for revenge, I felt the impact was lessened by the complete lack of background music. The pain that the parents go through just wasn't real enough to really touch me. For me, it was a good movie, but not a great one.

reading other reviews of this movie, most critism is based on the fact that yes, this movie is slow-paced and doesn't follow the obligatory film course of "grab your attention-climax-pull everything together into a cute little knot," but instead documents - in almost the most classy and breathtaking way i've ever witnessed - actual human emotion, and a situation not normally taken on from this perspective. this movie is very mature and will not be digested well by those who aren't, but if anything, most anyone should be able to enjoy the scenery and simple artistic value in this film. also, the acting was all very well done - each character was well developed and consistent. personally, i thought wilkinson was incredibly charming, and all of the other actors seemed perfect for their part. although you may not want to watch this film again and again, those who can appreciate it will be affected by it, and most likely impressed.

I saw this in the movies. It was awful. I kept expecting something to happen. It didn't. It held the same rhythm throughout. I liked the actors. This movie was just yuk. I don't understand the high rating. 1 star is too good.

powerful, emotional, shattering, shocking..this movie hooks you in with all those ingredients....acting that is superb crossing its T's and dotting it's I's with performances that are all those ingredients...Nick Stahl(Bully, Terminator 3:Rise Of The Machines) comes back for Marisa Tomei(Cousin Vinny, The Watcher) and her 2 boys...everything is going great until Tomei's violent and jealous ex comes and tries to get back into the boys and hers life...meanwhile Stahl's parents are concerned...the most shocking part would have to be when Stahl is killed..it just was like...oh crap....then Stahl's parents start to act weird and then Stahl's dad played with power by Tom Wilkinson(Rush Hour, The Patriot)..takes matters in his own hands and drags Tomei's ex to the middle of the woods and shoots him dead and Wilkinson and his friend bury the body deep in the woods...very emotional on the scale...fueled by the leads. Sissy Spacek(Carrie and Affliction) also stars as Stahl's mother.

"In the Bedroom" is like a tightly tied knot that is being pulled tighter and tighter until the string finally breaks. From the initial tension between the parents and the girlfriend to the killing, to the grieving and finally the cathartic revenge, the film holds a tight grip on the viewer and does not let go.

What I found most intriguing about this powerful film is the slow disintegration of the happy surface veneer of the marriage of the two parents. The tragedy forces the parents to confront their own faults, fears and ill feelings concerning their son and each other. The silence is finally broken, and the lack of communication in their marriage as a whole is finally addressed. The scenes intimate the sometimes vast difference between what is displayed in public and what is really happening underneath the surface of a relationship behind closed doors. The confrontation between Spacek and Wilkinson is one of the strongest and most potent scenes I have seen in a long while.

"In the Bedroom" is a difficult film to watch. It is not easy to experience the tension, the grief and the rollercoaster of emotions that the characters face, but there are few films in recent memory that capture these emotions so vividly and realistically.