Based on a play by David Lindsay-Abaire, Rabbit Hole is one of those films where big stars play regular people. They scream, they shout, they cry and they smile like everyone else and before you know they manage to seep into your system and completely engross you.
Becca (Nicole Kidman) and Howie (Aaron Eckhart) are pale shadows of what they used to be since the accidental death of their young son, Danny. Becca cuts herself off completely and spends most of her time gardening while Howie almost ritualistically goes along the days. This is their way of dealing with the loss and the twain meet at their weekly therapy group. Becca looses interest in the therapy and starts following around the teenager who was driving the car that killed Danny. Howie, on the other hand, has had enough of Becca’s silence and gets closer to Gabby (Sandra Oh), one of the grieving mothers he meets at therapy. To her surprise Becca finds solace in the company of the person responsible for her loss and doesn’t care about anything else. Soon Howie gets to know about Becca and just doesn’t know how to deal with it
Both Kidman and Eckhart put in an earnest effort in making Becca and Howie extremely believable. Immersing themselves into the characters, especially Kidman, make Rabbit Hole a highly absorbing and very engaging experience. The supporting act in the form of Dianne Wiest who plays Becca’s emotionally domineering mother and Sandra Oh’s Gabby who seems to be the only person orbiting Howie’s tormented mind space add to the film.
Provoked by a huge sense of grief Rabbit Hole is depressing but not beyond a point. Somewhere the film resembles the award winning play it’s based on and that makes it look somewhat manufactured and at places, even theatrical. But a strong element of humor that arises when unexpected makes Rabbit Hole very organic. There is a lot of talk about the strong underlying sense of pain, grief and loss but that never takes over. Losing one’s child and coping with life both Becca and Howie don’t know where the next turn might be but both go on because that’s what people who are left behind do. They go through the motions convincingly portraying the emotions that take you on a roller-coaster of a ride and while you are watching it the pain is very real, very palpable. Yet after the film is over you end up feeling that everything was scripted. Nevertheless, a pretty worthwhile tumble down the rabbit hole.
Rating: 3/5
Cast: Nicole Kidman, Aaron Eckhart, Dianne Wiest and Sandra Oh
Written by: David Lindsay-Abaire based on his own play
Directed by: John Cameron Mitchell
Image: Wikipedia
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