“In the Bedroom” is one of the best films of the past few years. This work of art doesn’t pull tricks to shock or manipulate emotions, but meticulously creates a unique situation where the moviegoer isn’t passively watching, but becomes entangled in the complicated reactions characters confront after a horrible tragedy. Few films give the moviegoer such brutally honest depictions of human behavior.
Adapted from a short story by Andre Dubus, “Bedroom” tells the story of a Maine couple coping with their son’s murder. Before the tragedy the biggest worry the couple faced was the budding romance between their college-aged son (Nick Stahl) and his older girlfriend (Marisa Tomei). But Tomei’s jealous ex-husband creates new conflicts for the couple when he succumbs to his rage and kills their son.
The film goes from character study to revenge story, but unlike most domestic thrillers, the transition is slow and feels more truthful. Even as the audience begins to understand where the plot is going, it is still a shock when it happens.
Sissy Spacek, who plays the wife, has received well-deserved attention for her work, but it is Tom Wilkinson as the husband who deserves the recognition. Best known as one of the naked guys in “The Full Monty” as well as the bad guy in “Rush Hour,” Wilkinson, as the emotional center of the film, gives one of the best performances by an actor in recent memory. The tragic event tears away at this moral man as he contemplates how dark the human soul can be.
Another accomplishment of the film is the depiction of the ex-husband (William Mapother, best known as a henchman in “Mission Impossible 2”). He is not stereotyped as an evil monster but is truly fleshed out, making the film’s ending even more shocking than one expects.
Director Todd Field, perhaps better known for his film roles in “Eyes Wide Shut” and “Ruby in Paradise,” uses the influence of directors he has worked with. He takes Victor Nunez’s talent for deliberately-paced character studies and Stanley Kubrick’s theme of inhumanity to make a film that surpasses anything these two accomplished directors have made. With this Field will prove to be the next great filmmaker.
“Bedroom” should get the Best Picture Oscar over mediocre Academy Awards posers like “A Beautiful Mind.” Spacek and Wilkinson should stand side by side on Oscar night with a gold man for each.
On a local level this is the first film to depict coastal Maine with any truth. There are no pet cemeteries, rabid dogs or Peyton Places (though “Bedroom” was filmed in the same location as the last). The actors’ dialects are not colorized with overly exaggerated Downeaster accents, but are closer to how people of Central Maine talk. Even the houses and interiors are exact in their detail. Many who see this film will not notice or care about these details, but for Downeasters it makes a world of difference.
Staff Writer Steve Allan can be contacted at: [email protected]