MESSAGE IN THE MOVIES

Rabbit Hole .  Rated PG-13

On Blu-ray Disc, DVD, and Video on Demand
Directed by John Cameron Mitchell.  Starring Nicole Kidman, Aaron Eckhart

Photo © Lionsgate Films
Movie Review by Rev. Bruce Batchelor Glader

Although Nicole Kidman was nominated for a Best Actress Oscar for her performance in Rabbit Hole, this film barely saw the light of day in theatres.  It’s a movie about grief – specifically the grief of losing a 4-year-old child following an accident – and most folks want to forget about such things when they enjoy a night out at the movies.  But grief is a part of life and needs to be regularly
visited by people of faith, so I looked forward to finally seeing this film when it came out on DVD.

The film tells the story of Becca (Kidman) and Howie (Eckhart), parents who are still mourning their dead son.  It begins 8 months after the boy’s death.  Becca and Howie have been attending a grief support group, but have been mostly listening to others talk about their losses.  One night a member suggests that perhaps death came about because “God needed another angel in heaven” and Becca loses it, walking out and vowing never to return to the group.  Howie is still willing to keep up with the meetings and to develop a growing friendship with another member.  Becca will deal with things in different ways, involving members of her family as well as the youth who was driving the car that accidently ran over her child as he was chasing the family dog into the street.

The film seems to be honest with grief and loss; the emotions from the parents are raw and real, and the pain is palpable.  Still, after the movie ended, I felt somehow less than inspired.  What Rabbit Hole lacks is a sense of the holy, the presence of God.  After God’s dismissal at the support group, faith never returns.  We are left with secular solutions to a spiritual loss.  Whatever victories and lessons that will be learned in the course of the film will be tentative at best.  That’s always the way it is with grief – you never should really get over it completely – but when the healing power of faith is absent, the possibilities of healing are tethered to our ability to deal with the problem.

I also had issues with the underdeveloped back story, which is common to stage plays (and this is David Lindsay-Abaire’s adaptation of his Pulitzer Prize winning play) but a problem on film.  We know nothing about Howie’s job except that it pays enough for them to live in a spacious home and drive luxury cars (no doubt there for product placement alone).  These parents have had their lives shaken for good.  I needed to know more in order to care more.

In spite of these quibbles, this is an honest movie that is willing to include some rueful humor on occasion.  Christians need to be reminded from time to time about why God matters. Rabbit Hole, in its own quirky way, should encourage us to keep the faith.

Pitchfork/Halo Ratings:

Three halos: A film that deals honestly with grief but  still manages to come up short.

Two pitchforks: Some swearing, a scene of marijuana smoking.

COMMENTS! Do you have comments about this movie or movie review? Email comments. (Your comments will be posted to our web site.)