<< Back 8/28/02 Flicks By Hunter Pope In the Bedroom Director: Todd Field. Written by Robert Fetsinger and Field, based on a short story (“Killings”) by Andre Dubus Cast: Tom Wilkinson, Sissy Spacek, Nick Stahl, William Mapother, Marisa Tomei Fair reader be warned. This reviewer is not out to be malicious. I am about to recommend a movie that may cause you to lose sleep. Worse, it may incite some of you to come banging on my house, asking for those two hours back that the movie pilfered away. Please don’t take me as some sadist who delights in the mental pain of others. I am just a movie watcher... an addict actually, who can sit through about anything (except for the abysmal “The Patriot”). After watching “In the Bedroom,” I feel like I climbed Mt. Everest and then sledded down on an antiquated Western Flyer to base camp. Brutal in every sense, “In the Bedroom” addresses the fibers of marriage. Much like a rope, any filament (i.e. pebbles) that gets in the rope can fray it over time. A good rope is one that can withstand the tiny inconveniences, as well as the big ones (i.e. an overweight rock climber). True love and long marriages withstand the big pressures when they come rolling in. Dr. Matt Fowler (Tom Wilkinson) and his wife, Ruth Fowler, (Sissy Spacek) have an unspeakable tragedy happen to them. The movie examines their spiral downward, and how they treat each other once this horrible event happens. What happens exactly I cannot say. It’s the linchpin of the movie, and I’m confident I would have picket signs outside my home if I divulged the content. All I can offer is a backdrop. The Fowler’s son, Frank (Nick Stahl) is in between college and grad school for architecture. Frank is a princely boy who seems to attract a gaggle of women wherever he goes. He’s also noble, intelligent, and has a wisdom that borders on sage-like. Frank is having a “summer thing” with Natalie Strout (Marisa Tomei), an older woman who has two kids from her ex-husband, Richard Strout (William Mapother). Richard is sleazier than a porn tape in the trash. His family owns a sardine canning company, and the untold riches have turned Richard into a lout. He’s abusive, he lies to his kids, and he doesn’t like Frank one bit. The more Frank gets involved with Natalie, the more he has to deal with Richard’s violent outbursts. However, the young Fowler swears to his parents that Natalie is a summer fling, but he soon reveals that maybe he should skip college for a year. Perhaps he could pick up his grandfather’s old trade — fishing for lobster. Matt, who adores his son, cannot think of an argument that will send his son back to school. Also, you can almost see that Matt relishes in his son’s “conquest” of an older woman. Ruth, on the other hand, is wary of Natalie. “This is not some sweetie from Vassar you can visit on holidays,” his mother tells Frank. “You’re not in this alone.” Ruth is somewhat of a cold woman. She’s committed to her work as a high school choral director of Eastern European folk songs, and her time for friends is minimal. She also watches over her son like a mother grizzly, and Frank resents her for it. Still, the Fowler family maintains a happy existence because they are basically living the American White Bread Dream— picket fences, Victorian house overlooking the Maine coast, a small town where everybody knows the other’s business, and comfortable wealth. Then it happens. An unthinkable event that transforms the Fowlers into something that resembles two cats angrily stewing in a tiny box. And this is where the mastery of the film begins. Most Hollywood movies sponge up a tragedy until there’s nothing left. “In the Bedroom” goes for a minimalist approach. We see a glimpse of the scene, a brief outline, and then the viewer is left to his or her own devices to figure out the rest of the story. It’s masterful because we are never led on about how angry Matt or Ruth feels. Both are solitary people who don’t allow mental trespassers, and when tragedy strikes, the door is triple bolted. However, once it’s pried open, the surprises are many. What makes this movie so special (I watched it a second time to try and catch the hidden meanings) is how Spacek and Wilkinson transform. I had no idea that Wilkinson is a British Shakespearean actor who starred in “The Full Monty;” he immerses into his American role, complete with a New England accent. He manipulates Matt like an astute puppet master. We see the happy man at the beginning of the movie morph into a hollow-eyed piece of wood that futilely shuffles through his gray days. Spacek does one simple facial tic and we see a woman who’s angry and emotionally devastated. Neither one of them speak of the rage outright, but their brilliant method acting tells us volumes about their mental anguish. It’s no wonder that the two of them took home the Special Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival. Those of you who watched “Eyes Wide Shut” should remember the blindfolded piano player during the orgy. That’s none other than Todd Field, the director of “In the Bedroom”. Incredibly, this was his first time behind the camera. Field had help from the late Andre Dubus, the Massachusetts-based writer who wrote the 18-page short story, “Killings,” which “In the Bedroom” is based on. Field’s approach is not so much about plot, but more about allowing his characters to be thrown into a moment and seeing what fracas evolves. The Chicago Sun Time’s movie critic, Roger Ebert, made a great observation of the movie: “Most movies are about plot, and chug from one stop to the next. Stephen King, whose book, On Writing, contains a lot of good sense, argues for situation over plot; he suggests that if you do a good job of visualizing your characters, it is best to put them into a situation and see what happens, instead of chaining them to a plot structure.” Let me reinforce that I am not out to hurt the average viewer. “In the Bedroom” is quite heavy, and the depressing aftertaste could gag the unwary. I liked it because it doesn’t use melodrama to swindle our sensitive side. “Here it is,” the movie says. “Deal with it the best you can.” Hopefully, you’ll remember that before you go looking for my address.