This is a contribution to COUNTING DOWN THE ZEROS. A large task taken on by a gentleman named IBETOLIS of FILM FOR THE SOUL fame....
I didn't see IN THE BEDROOM when it first came out. In fact, I didn't see it until just a few months ago. I feel the need to tell you this for one main reason. If you have not seen this movie, or better yet, have not seen this movie and know absolutely zero about it, stopt reading this immediately. If you have Netflix you can watch it instantly. If you live near a video store, go rent it. Don't watch the trailer. Don't read the synopsis. Just go get the movie and watch it. This is the kind of film in which spoilers could ruin the whole experience. So if you haven't seen the film don't read this post. SPOILERS AHEAD....
The film starts with two lovers frolicking through the grass. Natalie (Marisa Tomei), a younger older woman, recently divorced with a kid and Frank (Nick Stahl), a young man, much younger than Natalie, who's about to head off to college. This setup could be the conflict of another film, but for the most part Frank's father and mother are okay with Natalie. Well, maybe not okay with it. But at least tolerant. This, along with the tension between Natalie and her ex-husband Richard (William Mapother) takes up most of the film's first act.
The reason this picture stands out to me is its pacing. It could have easily been turned into a Lifetime like thriller, but no. We spend time with the love affair in the beginning. We are allowed to think this isn't a movie about murder and revenge, but about young love. wouldn't think a film like this would rely so heavily on plot twists, and it doesn't, to an extent. The twists in this film are not there to surprise and shock you. They may do this, but it's not their single function. In most other movies, when there is a jarring change to the story or a character's arc, it's their simply to change the story or a character's arc. With the two major plot points in this film, namely the murder of Frank, there is a different feel. One of realism and sadness. When Frank is shot by Richard, I was truly taken aback. My hand came over my mouth. I couldn't believe it. (I know there is a lot of argument over this subject. Some people seem to think that it was totally obvious. I would disagree completely)
The largest chunk of this film is the aftermath of the murder and the toll it takes on Matt (Tom Wilkinson) and Ruth (Sissy Spacek), Frank's parents. After Frank dies, the two barely talk. They move about their house like zombies. Matt, ignoring the situation all together. Ruth let's it consume her entire life. To make matter's worse, Frank's killer got off on a technicality. He wanders about town like nothing happened. In one particular scene, Ruth notices him in a convenience store. He says hello to her like a friendly neighbor. I'm not Ruth, but at that moment, I'd like to think her stomach fell to the floor.
There is an unspoken tension between the Ruth and Matt that culminates in a yelling match in the kitchen. Both blame the other for the raising of their son and his subsequent death. Ruth blames Matt for letting the boy do anything he chooses, cheering him on with his love affair with an older woman, living vicariously through him. Matt blames Ruth for never letting the boy live his own life. During the fight a girl scout comes to their door. Matt buys some candy, walks back to his wife and they share a moment of mourning. This is the first time since Frank's death that they actually acknowledge their pain. Once again, this fight could have been the climax of another film, but no. IN THE BEDROOM still has more to offer and that's Matt and Ruth's quest for revenge.
The scenes building up to these final scenes are intense. We follow Matt as he looks to find someway to reverse the courts decision. Find someone that could counter Richard's story. But there isn't anybody. A guilty man has walked and there is nothing Frank's parents could legally do about it. In one of my favorite scenes, the lawyer tries to explain to Matt the reason for the courts decision. His voice is drowned out on the soundtrack and we get inserts of the lawyers, mouth, watch, etc... After Matt heard him say there was nothing they could do, he tuned him out. There courts had failed him.
We don't necessarily know Matt is going to murder Richard. Even when the gun is pulled in the empty parking lot. There are moments when you think Matt may actually be telling him the truth (that he's just making him leave town because his wife can't stand the sight of him) but as this one long, dark and devious plot unfolds, we understand that this is the end for Richard.
IN THE BEDROOM is one of the best examples of genre bending I can think of. It's a drama, romance and revenge film, packed into a beautifully photographed two hours. I haven't seen a movie that switches between modes so effortlessly. And that's what makes this a great film. It isn't just a romance. It isn't just sadness. It isn't just blood thirsty revenge. It's all of those and much more. That's life.
