Rabbit Hole

The death of a child is one of those things that are difficult to wrap our minds around. I find it impossible to approach imagining what a parent in that situation is going through. Any work of art that attempts to tackle the subject is walking a fine line between mawkishness and keen insight, and the viewer can expect a grim experience. I'm heartened that Rabbit Hole, which is directly centered on the topic, practices admirable restraint, avoids the lugubrious and presents what appears to be an honest look at the situation.

This is surprising considering the director is John Cameron Mitchell. His first two films, Hedwig and the Angry Inch and Shortbus, were pansexual fantasias that showed little respect for form and celebrated the messy. It is unfathomable that any character in either of those movies would be, as they are in Rabbit Hole, seen lounging in their suburban home reading a magazine called Wallpaper.

The death of the child in Rabbit Hole has happened eight months before the action of the film begins. Becca (Nicole Kidman) and Howie (Aaron Eckhart) are struggling with it in their own ways. They attend a support group, but Becca doesn't like it, and after making an inappropriate remark to grieving parents whom she calls "god freaks" she stops attending. She seems more interested in removing evidence of her son, who died at age four when chasing a dog into the road. She takes down paintings from the refrigerator, calls for the removal of his car seat, and even suggests selling the house.

Kidman also is prickly around relatives. Her sister, unmarried and immature, announces she's pregnant, and her mother (Dianne Wiest) makes comparisons between Kidman's son and the death of her own son, who died when he was 30 from a drug overdose.

She ends up finding comfort in meeting secretly with the high-school student (Miles Teller), who was behind the wheel of the car who struck her son. He is writing a comic book about parallel universes that gives the film its title (since Lewis Carroll, a rabbit hole has been a metaphor for a portal to a different world). Kidman likes the concept of parallel worlds, and is soothed that, "Somewhere I'm having a good time."

The script was written by David Lindsey-Abaire, based on his Pulitzer-Prize winning play. He has done an admirable job of opening the play up. Though there are many scenes of characters exchanging large amounts of dialogue, at no time does it seem stagey.

Kidman, whose work I've often found to be spotty, turns in one of her strongest performances. Not to be catty, but I found it interesting that one can actually see lines in her forehead in this film, despite her generally plasticized appearance. The character is not easy to embrace--Kidman certainly is known for playing frosty people, but I found her sympathetic nonetheless. A scene where she returns to her old job but finds her colleagues have all left seems out of nowhere, but her subtle work in it ties it into the whole.

Eckhart is also strong, and though he shares screen time the film seems less about him than her. A subplot about his attraction to a fellow group member (Sandra Oh) seems to be a rote addition. I found his most affecting scene to be with the family dog, who had been banished by Kidman for the association with the child's death.

I should also add that Teller, as the young man, gives a very assured performance. He has to carry the guilt around with him (though the accident was not his fault) and I believed every nuance of his performance.

This film clearly isn't for everyone. Films about deep-seated grief are not my first choice, and I saw this film mostly because Kidman is a good bet for an Oscar nomination. But I'm glad I saw it.

My rating for Rabbit Hole: B+