Review of In a Bedroom (2012) by Ryan K — 11 Oct 2012

Andre Dubus is a well known writer, known for his emotional and complex stories. Dubus fills his pages with emotional, relatable and realistic characters. One of his short stories "Killings" was made into a two hour masterpiece. In 2001 director Todd Fields turns a short story about love and loss into an emotionally gripping and almost realistic view on life. The film is set in Camden, Maine. Matt Fowler played by Tom Wilkinson is a father and has a wonderful life and family. He has everything he would hope for. His son Frank played by Nick Stahl falls in love over the summer with a woman named Natalie Strout whom is portrayed by Marissa Tomei. The twist is she is much older than Frank, has two kids and is in the middle of a divorce with her husband Richard Strout played by William Mapother.

The film is just magnificent. It has characters that are wonderfully real and fleshed out. The whole cast is just amazing at portraying these characters and also are well made through the writing. The standout performances have to be Tom Wilkinson and William Mapother. They just made these characters powerful and the best in the movie. Tom Wilkinson is a concerned and grieving father and the audience believes that he is sad and upset. He gives off one of the strongest performances recently. William Mapother was absolutely stunning in his eerie and quite frightening character Richard. He gives off that unsettling feel and the audience knows something about this guy isn't right. It was just some of the best acting I have seen. But not just the main cast is great, but the supporting cast is all good. Willis (William Wise) is one of Matt's friends and helps him during his grieving. He is such a great character and the audience can see why Matt is friends with him. The other supporting cast members are all great especially during scenes where Matt plays poker with his friends. The scenes are funny, serious or just entertaining.

The on technical side of things, "In the Bedroom" has great use of music. When there is music playing, it is put in well and fits the mood the characters are in and adds more to the movie. Most the movie is silent so to add music is great and it just is so eerie and haunting sometimes emotional, it's just brilliant. The cinematography is just pitch perfect. The camera takes long and real beautiful shots of Maine and it is used effectively and creates some beautiful visuals and enhances the experience mixed with the soundtrack. Music and cinematography blend perfectly. Writers/director Todd Fields and Robert Festinger did a brilliant job adapting the short story and incorporating added scenes from the story. The screenplay for this movie is actually better than the original piece. The short story lacked character development and had way too many characters involved it's hard to keep up with. Unlike this movie which has a good sized cast of characters and you know who is who and is distinguishable. The film also has well put together characters and they all have a personality that makes them unique and real. "In the Bedroom" is a perfect example on how to make a grounded and real movie. It has emotional appeal and is a very dark and heavy story. It knows how to adapt a short story and make its own work. It is a brilliant piece and is a must see movie.