Marisa Tomei, Sissy Spacek and Christopher Adams in "In the Bedroom."

MOVIE INFORMATION

With 10 as a must-see, Jack gives this film a: Stars: Sissy Spacek, Tom Wilkinson and Marisa Tomei Director: Todd Field Rated: Rated R, with strong language, violence Length: 136 minutes

ROCHESTERCRITIQUE

Having seen this film, how would you rate it? 10 5 9 4 8 3 7 2 6 1

By Jack Garner
Democrat and Chronicle

(December 29, 2001) -- In the Bedroom opens with pastoral summertime bliss. A young couple runs playfully through a wheat field, collapse together in the shadow of a big tree, and kiss each other gently.

The man is still young, maybe 20; the woman is quite a big older, at least 30. And they have no idea it's the calm before the storm.

The young man, Frank Fowler (Nick Stahl), is a college architectural student, on a summer break at the family home in Maine. And he's having what he calls "a summer thing" with Natalie, an older woman (Marisa Tomei) with two children, recently separated from her abusive husband.

Frank's mother, Ruth (Sissy Spacek), a high school choir director, doesn't like the romance.

A somewhat-stern, controlling individual, Ruth believes Natalie is too old for her son, might distract him from his studies, and brings a complicated domestic situation into his life.

There's also a bit of social status at play, since the Fowlers are educated, upper-middle-class folks and Natalie is a working-class woman.

Frank's father, Matt (Tom Wilkinson) has broken from the family tradition of lobster fishing to become a physician. He's not as worried about Frank's love-life. If anything, he's a bit envious, since Natalie is a real looker.

The Fowler family, though, is about to hit by a tragedy they could have never imagine -- which will lead the survivors to take steps that would have been unthinkable before disaster struck. I suspect to say more will lessen the impact of this superb film.

Just know that In the Bedroom offers the most riveting domestic turmoil of any film this year, along with brief but incredibly powerful acts of emotional and physical violence.

The result is a stunning study of the power of love and the pain of loss -- between a man and woman, a parent and child, and a husband and wife.

The power comes in equal measure from the literate, subtle artistry of a first-time director and the vital, oh-so-real performances of his cast.

The director is Todd Field, a young character actor best-remembered as Tom Cruise's piano-playing friend in Eyes Wide Shut. With the graceful brilliance of In the Bedroom, Field emerges as a filmmaker to watch.

Much of Field's talent shows up in the uniform excellence of his cast. Spacek has seldom delivered as potent a portrayal as this study of a domineering woman, weighed down with loss and guilt. Wilkinson makes it easy to forget he's a Shakespeanian-trained British actor (who was in "The Full Monty.") Here he's clearly a New Englander, and a father, and is shocked to discover what he's capable of.

Tomei, too, is at the top of her game; her Natalie is a perfectly realized battered woman, struggling for a bit of decency and affection in her life. Also memorable is William Mapother as Natalie's volatile ex-husband, whose actions trigger tragedy.

Look for a parade of Oscar nominations.

In the Bedroom was adapted by Field and Rob Festinger from Killings, an Andre Dubus short story. Field's new title comes from an incident early in the film.

Matt and Frank Fowler are taking one of Natalie's young sons out on a lobster fishing run. Matt holds up a lobster for the boy to inspect. The creature is missing a claw, thanks to an encounter in a "bedroom," which is what they call the inner-most chamber of a lobster trap.

He tells the boy, "More than two of these in a bedroom, chances are something like this will happen."