"In the Bedroom" is a grim, upsetting film that deals with painful subject matter in a vague, almost fatalistic way. Because it's neither neatly resolved nor cheery, it offers little solace to a viewer. Still, a great cast and rookie feature director Todd Field's sure and intelligent handling keeps the story riveting in an offhand sort of way. There have been other films dealing with vengeance and grief, but Field's unpredictable approach makes "In the Bedroom" seem richer and more vibrant.
Adapted by Rob Festinger and Field from the late Andre Dubus' tale, "In the Bedroom" starts off in an almost mundane Maine fishing town. Dr. Matt Fowler (Tom Wilkinson, "The Full Monty") is a 54-year-old physician with a college-age son named Frank (Nick Stahl) and a wife named Ruth (Sissy Spacek) who teaches music. Their life together seems rather repetitive and sedate, but Frank has become smitten with Natalie (Marisa Tomei), an older woman with two children and a husband she's in the process of leaving. There's a good reason she's dropping Richard (William Mapother, Tom Cruise's cousin). He's got a hair-trigger temper and has no reservations about using his fists or even weapons to make a point.
Rating: *** 1/2
(R)
Ruth, while fond of Natalie's children, thinks that her son's beloved is distracting the lad from his studies and exposing him to danger. Matt, while uneasy about the situation, believes the relationship may just be a phase or that Ruth is overreacting. In some ways, it's almost as if he gets a vicarious kick out his son's intimacy with the comely Natalie. When Richard's behavior becomes even more belligerent, Ruth feels like a Cassandra when she suggests that Frank and Natalie need to call the cops.
Naturally, all of this domestic turmoil leads to a sticky end. To Festinger and Field's credit, "In the Bedroom" manages to take this seemingly routine situation and imbue it with a low-key urgency. During some pivotal moments, Field doesn't show the fights or scuffles that will be important later. Instead, a viewer might see some headlights flash by the screen and then witness the aftermath a few minutes later. When Field eventually does show some onscreen violence, the previous restraint makes these sequences seem even more alarming.
For a first-timer, Field has an unusually broad range of visual and editing tricks. In one sequence, Matt tries to consult with a prosecuting attorney. The lawyer's voice is loaded with expressions of concern, but Field cuts to shots of him fidgeting with his keys, indicating he has other priorities. Festinger and Field also avoid moralizing, and often leave the audience to decide for itself if the characters have acted correctly or what their eventual outcomes will be. They're aided by Thomas Newman's ("American Beauty") intriguingly dissonant score, which features quirky chorale work with the usual synthesizer drones.
Field's touch may not always be golden (a speech Matt gives about lobsters is a heavy-handed attempt at foreshadowing, and Frank seems woefully lacking in common sense), but as an actor himself, who's best known for playing a shady pianist in "Eyes Wide Shut," he seems to know how to get the most out of his cast. Since winning an Oscar for "My Cousin Vinny," Tomei's performances have been rather spotty, but here she demonstrates some formidable chops and a dynamic range that must have been lying dormant all these years. Despite Natalie's questionable decisions (especially her taste in men), Tomei makes her consistently sympathetic.
Spacek and Wilkinson might have trouble getting recognized at Oscar time this year because most of their lines are delivered with a whisper. The bombastic outbursts that usually run through these sort of dramas are minimal. Instead, the two spend their time seething or pretending to be upbeat when the predicament worsens. As the movie progresses, the once chatty couple barely speak to each other, and when they do it's either a passive acknowledgment or a fit of rage. Wilkinson, in particular, excels at hinting at his character's unspeakable inner torments.
Field does little to make "In the Bedroom" seem cheery or even cathartic, but his eagerness to trust the audience to decide the story's ultimate conclusion is indeed a sign of hope.
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