4 stars: The only way out is through

When someone loses a loved one  there is always someone who asks you if you are alright  or how you are doing and to try and be kind  to be hospitable to that person you tell a bold face lie that you are doing fine and dealing with the lose  well. That is a lie, everything you say when a loved one dies is a lie  your doing alright, your coping well, your dealing with the grief fine is all a lies in truth no one deals with grief well but we do deal with it in our own ways. Some cry some don't  some watch old home videos to  quash the unbearable pain that they have lingering inside them and there are some people- people like me- who just keep all that anger, all that sorrow  all those unsaid things inside. Them until one day you see a picture of that person a picture of that person when they were at there prime. When that person was at the peak, of there health and you- as a child- had no idea that in a few years that person was going to die in the middle of your house from brain cancer. You try to hide your feelings brush them aside, you try and deny the fact that it happened that it was all just a dream and that person will walk through the door at any moment with there hands full of groceries or there arms full of bags from shopping at some clothing store. Or is at church with your dad and she will be home any minute but she won't be home so now you find yourself sitting in an empty house day to day wishing you could come downstairs and know that she will be there waiting for you. However, she will not. There is no escaping pain. There is no way of dealing with it except over time you will learn to accept the fact that that person who you loved so much with all your heart and soul is gone. That that person is never coming back once you can accept  that you can move on and learn to deal with the lose of that person so whenever you see a picture or watch a video and you see that person's face you smile instead of feeling sad. When you can do that, when you can look at a photo of that person and not cry then you know that you have let go of some of the grief that was waning on your soul. You start to feel better about your life you start to feel like life is worth living again and when you do that you have taken a step closer to finding your way out of the rabbit hole and back into the world feeling good without all the grief holding you down, facing the world becomes easier. 





If someone ever asks you if it becomes easier to deal with the loss of a loved one the answer you will most likely get is no. It does not. You learn to bear it and put on a face whenever someone you know asks you how you are dealing with it, you just smile and lie as you always do or you act as if it still bothers you (which it does) and go on with the rest of your day like usual. In John Cameron Mitchell's adaptation of  David Lindsay-Abaire's Pulitzer Prize winning Broadway play  examines the end stages of a couple going through the worst kind of grief you could imagine, the loss of a child. In this case there four year old son Danny who was inadvertently hit by a car, you watch as this young couple suffers every waking moment they experience from the loss of there son. They experience anger and sadness sometimes at the same time, they feel as if their world has grown cold and that there is no one on the planet that knows exactly how they feel. What they are going through day in and day out is more than most could bear to fathom how painful it is each and everyday to walk by the room of there beloved son and know that nothing in this world is going to bring him back to them just eats them alive inside. As the audience watches this film, the viewers eaten alive as well as they experience the painful journey these two are going through. You feel every moment of anguish and sorrow every moment of regret they feel over their sons death, the regret of what they could have done differently that would have prevented their sons premature death. What they could have done, what they should have done that probably runs through there minds every single day. You can't shake that feeling that  your responsible like you are the one who mowed down your own child like you killed him and now you are paying some unjustly price for sins from your past. This is a painful film a painful film about an even more painful subject that most people who have lost a loved one will find excruciating. Trust me when I tell you this film is excruciatingly painful to watch. Not because this is a terrible film this is an exceptional film, but because the subject matter is so tough so raw that you feel like you are not watching a film anymore but experiencing a real life event told in a short amount of time. "Rabbit Hole" is one of 2010's most powerful and most painful films a true testimony to the unflinching power of filmmaking, how sometimes the best stories told in motion pictures are sometimes the simplest. This moving picture about loss, love and everything comes after it. How sometimes what you need the most to pick yourself up after such a painful loss is the love of someone and how moving on doesn't mean you have to forget the one you lost but learn to live your life without that person being there all the time to give you a warm smile or to comfort you when you need it or to show you love when you least expect it or even think you don't deserve it of how you sometimes need to let go of the past and embrace the future before you.





John Cameron Mitchell and David Lindsay-Abaire's masterful film "Rabbit Hole" is as brilliant as it is heartbreaking a true gem amongst the overly melodramatic crap that comes out from Hollywood each year. "Rabbit Hole" redefines the meaning of the word drama and puts back some much needed old school touches in the genre that it  has lost over the years to mushy romantic drama's and war drama's that beat the genre with a stick till there was nothing left but what you see in almost any dramatic film. This is the kind of film that twenty years ago would be marked as  a classic by today's audience, and truth be told this little film with a big heart is-to me- what filmmaking is all about, what making a movie is all about. "Rabbit Hole" is a traditional drama in the best sense of the word. A true film about something other than sex, lies, drugs and aggression it is about something much deeper and more meaningful than that. This film is the kind you think you know what you are getting into. You expect some sad  tale of a young couple going through the stages of grief  but what you don’t expect is how powerful and moving this film is,    how swift and yet simply told its magnificent story is of how this couple deal with the ends stages of their grief for their young son Danny. "Rabbit Hole" is not only one of the best films of 2010; but one of the most moving, powerful and evocative films I have seen in years. This film is truly a work of art and a true labor of love from everyone involved a brilliant film about love loss and everything that comes after it, "Rabbit Hole" is what filmmaking is all about and a true shinning reminder of why we as moviegoers go to the movies in the first place.




Nicole Kidman's performance in "Rabbit Hole" is one of sheer and utter brilliance she gives it her all as grieving mother Becca is just gripping. Kidman does not over play the part or under play the part she instead seek a level that supersedes both, she aims for neither. Kidman does not need to under play or over play; she simply plays the part as if she was really living it. Like it was her child who had died and she was mourning his loss. This is a tough subject matter for her seeing as she has children of her own, but the level of excellence in this performance is just astounding. From the first few moments that she is onscreen, you instantly know that she is undoubtedly going to be nominated for the Academy Award. Kidman never falters not even for a second she is always on the very top of her game pushing this film along to its calm melancholy ending. Aaron Eckhart delivers what can be called the defining performance of his entire career, Eckhart is all moody aggression and sorrow as Howie Becca's overly grief stricken husband. I use the word overly because out of the two of them he is suffering the most from the tragic loss of their young son. Eckhart is firing on all cylinders delivering an Oscar worthy performance in one of the most understated films of the year. Eckhart and Kidman are a remarkable sight in this no holds bar motion picture. The rest of the cast including Tammy Blanchard, Miles Teller, and Sandra Oh with Diane Wiest all deliver outstanding supporting work in this   beautiful if often painful masterpiece.





"Rabbit Hole" is often too painful for most normal viewers but for the select few that can handle this film’s touchy and at sometimes-tough subject matter of loss of a loved one. "Rabbit Hole is a powerful and moving portrait of a couple just trying to get by after a tragedy. This movie is one of the very best of a rather unimpressive year a true gem and work of art amongst the blockbusters (most of them God-awful) and jokey rom-com is (do not get me started on that subject) that lack any sort of substance to them at all. "Rabbit Hole" is a surefire Oscar contender for best picture and is going on my list as one of the ten best of the year, this is a beautiful film of loss, and how sometimes the best way to get over the  lose of someone you love is not to forget them but to learn to live with that tragedy. So whenever you look at that room or see a photo of that person the pain will not be as strong, it will not be as burdening.