January 3, 2011: Rabbit Hole
Chalk this one up to Oscar-season required viewing. I had seen previews for Rabbit Hole and it looked like just another “couple struggling because they react differently to trauma” dramas, and while I’ll admit that it was better than I expected it to be, the film was still entirely unremarkable.
Looking through my notes about the events of the plot and what I thought of the characters, there isn’t even much I want to talk about here. Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart anchor the film as the central couple. Kidman is her usual annoying self, but it’s actually appropriate here. Eckhart continues to establish himself as a versatile leading actor, building on the wide variety of characters he has played in recent years including a major role in The Dark Knight (2008) and the lead in Thank You For Smoking (2005). Here he’s more quiet than usual, which is a departure from his usual fast-talking persona. Two-time Oscar winner Dianne Wiest is on board as well and while I’m not her biggest fan, she brings undeniable emotional gravity to her roles and this one is no exception.
From group therapy through to the eventual blowup fight scene, Rabbit Hole is just ticking the checkboxes. It’s what I imagine I Am Sam (2001) is like, and I’m not planning to see that until some unimaginable circumstance requires me to. The quiet guitar-based score is nice, and there are a few good moments, but otherwise it’s just cookie-cutter high-emotion Hollywood acting awards fodder.
This did not make me cry.
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