Rabbit Hole (John Cameron Mirchel, 2010) USA

Reviewed by Linda Sweatt. Viewed at the Metro 4 Theatre during The 2011 Santa Barbara International Film Festival.

A sensitive journey to love and healing. Rabbit Hole is a dramatic tragedy staring the renowned actress Nicole Kidman. Known for such movies as Moulin Rouge, The Hours and Eyes Wide Shut; her amazing performance in Rabbit Hole has earned her another Oscar nomination. Her intense role of Becca, a traumatised mother grieving the loss of her young son will surly add to her collection of trophies. Robert Durling, the producer of the SBIFF, so believes in her work in this film that he scheduled an evening event of  tribute way before she even received the nomination. He pronounced this her best performance to date as it is such an intense subject matter to handle.

Rabbit Hole has also been a very personal project for Kidman. As producer, it took Kidman four years to get it made, bringing it from a stage play to the big screen (written by David Lindsay-Abaire). Therefore this film also gives us even more of an insight into this big star. Just like her, the film is subdued, and feels more like a foreign film then an American film in the slow deliberate attention to detail as  this film focuses on the internal rather than the external. Rabbit Hole really delves beneath the surface of the characters, way deep into their psychic and personal truth.

Aaron Eckhart also delivers a great performance as he plays Howie Corbet, the husband and father. Even though their reactions to their terrible tragedy is completely opposite he allows her to be where she is. When she flies off the handle sometimes expressing herself as  a  total bitch he has tremendous restraint, patience and compassion for her. After all, they share the very same pain. I especially appreciate the scene where the couple is in a group therapy session and she gets fed up with all the god talk, taking us on a roller-coaster of emotions from very sombre, depressive suddenly to the relief or laughter.

Following her intuition leads Becca, the mother,  into an interesting journey with the very calm and centered Miles Teller who plays the teenager who happened to be driving when their young son ran in to ther street. A fascinating relationship develops between him and Becca. Their secret rendezvous eventually are what heals the wounds for both of them. This young man is a talented artist working on a comic book which brings a whole other layer of colorful creativity to the movie that is otherwise shot in a very subtle neutral color scheme.

The Rabbit Hole holds allot of moral messages in the actions of the characters. No matter how heated the argument become they fight for each other, always insisting that no one is to blame for the death of their son. This film is tender and intimate taking us on an emotional journey. Afterward I felt strangely calm centered and at peace,  leaving me with a very good feeling.