Rabbit Hole (2010)

Wonderful character development!

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

Excellent acting - mainly by Nicole and her mother. I especially loved the soothing calm and demeanor of the mom. It manages grief so very well, without being melodramatic (almost always).Story unfolds in an intriguing manner...cracks up gradually...with no jerks. You know whats going on, yet it looks interesting, not so predictable

"Rabbit Hole" is a well done picture from 2010. It is currently available on NetFlix Instant Download Streaming. The director is John Cameron Mitchell. The writer is David Lindsay-Abaire for both the screenplay as well as the play. John Cameron Mitchell's piece is the most simple film of the year, yet one of the best. Please do not confuse simple with simplistic. It's a rather complex turmoil of emotions that come together to provide an intense account of a couple coping with their son's death. However it is done in such a clean and polished manner that one might wonder if the secret of success lies on the "simple" process of feeling the imagery and capturing the visual style. It's extremely effective and gives room to the actors do what they do best. Rabbit Hole is not about the loss, but how to cope with it and how hard and emotionally heavy it can be. Through day-to-day actions people try to forget, believing that the solution lies on the non-existence, but the truth is that facing reality is much more efficient. Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart prove that point by engaging the audiences in the dimension of their loss through significant and remarkable character development. This is to say that their performances are astounding, but much more important than that they don't feel like performances: they feel real. Though it may be hard to avoid getting into the field of sentimentalism, both actors manage to escape the melodrama and focus on what is real: going to work every day, cleaning the house, going to group therapy, baking, playing squash, reading… In the process there is an intrinsic desire to confront the situation, but it's too hard. It becomes physically painful and intellectually devastating. Men and women are different to the extent of physical appearance since when it boils down to the bare essential, the human being just wants one thing: to cope with their existence. It's not about sex, procreating, loving… it's accepting that people die. I gave it 6 stars. Dale Haufrect

I have to preface this review by saying I only watched the first 20 minutes. While part of me says it's not fair to do that, a bigger part of me says that if you fall at the first hurdle you fall at the first hurdle. If I only lasted 20 minutes then it is bound to be the same for others and therefore I think my comments are as valid as any and it is only fair to warn people.I have to say that I was bored before the opening credits ended. We see a well heeled woman planting plants in her well heeled garden in a well heeled suburb. This is all so bourgeois I have emotionally tuned out already. Inside her perfect house we meet her well heeled husband, improbably called Howie of all things. The husband is played by Aaron Eckhard who is just hopelessly miscast - he seems like someone who just popped out of a GI Joe action figure mold and it is just impossible to imagine him in a loving husband role. Neither the wife nor husband seem to actually do anything although she sometimes drives round her perfect neighbourhood in her perfect car. After a while we learn that their son was killed in a tragic accident 8 months ago, but really, sad as that might be, we just can't feel a shred of sympathy for these perfect people. They go to support group meetings where people say ridiculous things like "I guess God must have wanted another angel". While to her credit the woman finds this as stupid as I did, it is hard to comprehend the point of this within the movie. After 8 months the woman will still not have sex with her husband, but again we really don't care, because, do people like this actually exist? We are introduced to the wife's neer-do-well sister, someone even less likable than the central characters, hard as that is to believe. The sister is pregnant and although I did not see the conclusion of this little angle it seemed fairly obvious this would be source of friction, guilt and jealousy between the two, something that appealed to me about as much as eating glass shards.And that's about as far as I got folks. I will never know why they called it "The Rabbit Hole", but I can live with that for the sake of my mental health. May you enjoy it more than I did....

Watching this a second time, I was gripped by the powerful performances in this sensitive, heart-squeezing – and often quite funny – drama about husband and wife dealing with the loss of their young son. Nicole Kidman as the wife is subtle, restrained, utterly believable – we feel such empathy for her. And possibly even more empathy for Aaron Eckhart as the husband, in what has to be one of his best performances. For me some of the finest acting comes from Miles Teller, as the teenage driver responsible for the death of the child. He is not in that many scenes, but he impresses in an understated, unblemished and authentic performance. Dianne Wiest, as always, gives the story extra gravitas in a devastatingly sad, funny and poignant role as Kidman's mother and a survivor herself. It reminded me of Ordinary People in many ways, and as deserving of praise.