Review of Rabbit Hole (2010) by Liz — 31 Jul 2011

A beautifully made, but disappointingly forgettable film.

Where Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart flourish and express their never ending range of talent, Dianne Wiest, Tammy Blanchard and Sandra Oh disappoint. The supporting cast can barely dredge up emotion, and detract from the idea of the film. On the other hand, this man be one of Nicole Kidman's most brilliant roles; she has become more than a Hollywood Icon, she is proving her talent as an actress, and Eckhart has begun to join her.

Written with a perfect frame of mind, and capacity to understand others, "Rabbit Hole" was uncomfortably real and up-close--John Cameron Mitchell struck film-gold with this discomfort. Problematically, its hard to sit through more than an hour or so of something this intense, and the length (1 hour and 30 minutes) was perfect, yet left something to be wanted. The result of the movie leaves the audience feel as though there has just been a circle; nothing real has occurred. But, I admire and give my praise to David Lindsay-Abaire (the writer of both the play and screenplay) for willingly and publicly condemning religion and those who take it to an extreme. While partially done jokingly, and sometimes seriously, the religious examination is a fantastically interwoven theme.

Overall, Nicole Kidman was Oscar worthy and performed brilliantly, but that was the highlight of the production. Beneath her performance there are two well formed characters; Howie and Jason (brilliantly portrayed by Miles Teller) and this is simply not enough to have made an outstanding film. If you truly love Kidman or Eckhark see this film and if you look at performance over plot this is also worth your while.