Rabbit Hole (Nicole Kidman, Aaron Eckhart) : Movie Review

Based on the Pulitzer Prize winning play by David-Lindsay Abaire, Rabbit Hole is a study in grief, in loss, in marriage and in family.

It’s eight months after the tragic death of their young son Danny, and Becca (Nicole Kidman) and Howie (Aaron Eckhart) Corbett are struggling to move forward. Dinners with friends are shrugged off; their son’s bedroom remains untouched, Becca easily snaps at her family; mother Nat (Dianne Weist) and sister Izzy (Tammy Blanchard), and Howie can barely kiss his wife without her retreating.

It isn’t long before Becca refuses to continue going to their couples’ therapy group, and husband and wife take separate paths to try healing their wounds. Becca begins meeting up with Jason (Miles Teller), the teenager who swerved his car from hitting the Corbett’s dog and instead hit their child. Howie takes comfort in a friendship formed through their therapy group, with Gaby (Sandra Oh) who, along with her husband, has been in therapy for eight years.

Director John Cameron Mitchell (Hedwig and the Angry Itch, Shortbus) has expertly crafted a film with a soft, dream-like quality. The hushed tones of suburban life, matched by Becca’s neutral wardrobe and Dianne Weist’s wispy performance, paint a portrait of a family attempting to maintain control after having what they treasured the most ripped from their embraces.

Rabbit Hole : Oscar Contender?

For all of the tragedy portrayed on screen there is remarkably little emotion transferred to the audience. It may be hard for Nicole Kidman to evoke such feelings considering her tormented face looks incredibly similar to her other expressions, but while the diminutive air works well with some of her scenes, when it comes to the emotional climax between her and Eckhart she does, as her character yells, seem to not care as much.

It can be said the performances by the leads are understated yet realistic, however the lack of overall tension conveyed the lack of chemistry on screen between Kidman and Eckhart. That we are meant to believe this couple were ever happy together, an iPhone video clip Howie repeatedly plays constantly trying to show us they were, is a far stretch of the imagination. Though we can give concessions for the grief and anger, the total lack of love between the two is hard to reconcile by the ending and ultimately one is aware that they are watching Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart on screen playing a married couple.

The true standout performance is undeniably Dianne Weist, who as the mother of Becca and expectant mum Izzy, is also the grieving mother of their brother who passed away from a heroin overdose. It is her constant comparing of his death with Danny’s that provoke the most emotion from Becca, and the scenes shared by Kidman and Weist are the most emotionally fuelled of the entire film. Weist should be the one collecting awards nominations and praise, and not in my opinion Kidman, whose performance is at best, distant with occasional highs.

Rabbit Hole is an unyielding drama, though it doesn’t stray too far from the ‘grief over the death of a child’ path, there’s plenty to ruminate on, especially if a parent yourself. The process of working through grief is explored generically and the ultimate conclusion, that you take one step at a time, is honest but dull to watch on screen.  See this film for the performances but be aware of the connect-the-dots story.

Watch Out For

Spot an expression on Nicole Kidman’s face other than stunned and you win a cupcake!

WATCH OUT FOR | RATING : 3 out of 5