The subject of familial strife and stress is not a new one, several movies over the past few years have dealt with that topic in some form or another, with mixed results.  From the chilling power of Atom Egoyan’s Sweet Hereafter (and more recently, The Deep End), to the insipid emotional trite of Before and After, this is not unfamiliar ground for directors to tread on.  Todd Field comes in somewhere in the middle of those two extremes with his debut effort, In The Bedroom.  The film is incredibly well cast and acted, along with being meticulously crafted down to the very details of television shows and sporting events, but it fails only slightly, in the fact that instead of overwhelming the audience with the emotion of the traumatic events and the immediate aftereffects, he drags the grieving aspects of the parents and others to near tedious level, before finally resolving things in an expected, but realistic manner.  Despite these minor flaws though, In The Bedroom is still a powerful, realistic look at the effects of abnormal, or extraneous circumstances on average people.

The story takes place in the nicer parts of Maine (the antithesis of Stephen King’s view of the state) and focuses on the Fowler family, Ruth, a high school choir teacher, Matt, the local doctor, and Frank, their son, headed for an Ivy League school after summer.  Frank falls for the much older Natalie, who comes with baggage of her own, namely a temperamental and persistent ex-husband (Richard).  The first part of the movie is used to establish the characters, develop their interactions, and basically let us get to know and care about them, and to show that these are people that exist in the real world, not the Hollywood version of reality, and Field does this quite well.  His most endearing little aspect of reality, to me, was his insertion and constant usage of television shows and radio broadcasts, sometimes as the only dialogue in a scene, to add that relatable sense of realism to matters.  The second part of the film, deals with a tragic event and loss, that I shall not reveal, and no critic should, needless to say it creates the tension and ultimate resolution, which populates the third act of the movie. I had no problem with the subtle way that the tension develops, and then erupts throughout the cast, but it was a bit tedious, seeing the grief hammered into our souls shamelessly, using different situations to parlay the same emotion.  A bit of trimming, time wise and situation wise, would have been more powerful and effective without taking anything away from the intensity of the situation.  These feelings are conveyed powerfully enough in two of the films three memorable scenes.  One, where Tomei confronts Spacek, and one where Wilkinson and Spacek have it out, broken up by a candy bar sale, then come to a realization afterwards (the other memorable scene was one with Wilkinson walking down the halls to his wife’s classroom) were very tension filled and emotional, with the subtle touch not to go over the top and milk it for any emotion other than the one that naturally comes about, if you’ve let these characters inside you.  Field and Festinger allow this to happen, dually, by the way they setup, and deliver the story to us, with great patience.  This patience could have however been abandoned in the final stanza, in place of hard hitting emotional, and real, intensity, that would have abounded, and been emitted by the actors, who all deliver strongly, and were cast perfectly.

The shining stars, definitely worthy of recognition, run the gamut through the entire cast, but the best of them, are Wilkinson, with his patient, almost non-challant method of dealing with it all.  Inside he is obviously pained, but he channels it into other events and activities, in an almost uncaring, unfeeling manner, in contrast to Spacek.  She is a virtual volcano, dormant and simmering at times, erupting and tortured at others, and Spacek hits every painful note with perfection.  Tomei is coming out of her fluffy Oscar win haze slowly (this is another dramatic role, along the lines of her performance in Unhook The Stars), and fits the role of loving mother, yet victim, quite well, as does Stahl, who is helped along by his innocent, yet playful good looks, to match his depth and charm.  Finally Mapother (Tom Cruise’s cousin), is calmly wicked, with just his look, and words that seem to ooze the despise that is needed for his role to work.

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