Rabbit Hole

A film about a couple eight months after the death of their child. From outside, Becca and Howie look as though they have pulled themselves together. The house is orderly, work continues and they talk. But the two are handling grief in entirely different ways, and the difference creates a silent conflict between them. Howie goes to the support group, watches videos of his son and wants the room left as it is. Becca removes the traces: she gives things away, takes down pictures and finds the talk at the group meaningless. Becca is doing something else as well: she has found the young driver involved in the accident and started talking to him. She tells nobody about these meetings. What the film describes is not healing but making something carryable. Nobody is healed at the end; only an idea of how to continue appears. The source is David Lindsay-Abaire's play and he adapted the screenplay himself. Nicole Kidman plays Becca, Aaron Eckhart plays Howie and Dianne Wiest her mother. Kidman was Oscar-nominated. John Cameron Mitchell directed. An honest, well-acted film for anyone who likes family drama and narratives built on grief. Before you watch, know this: the subject is the death of a child and the film produces consolation nowhere.