Dir: Todd Field
Cast: Tom Wilkinson, Sissy Spacek
"In the Bedroom" is one of the most impressive, shocking, moving debut films that I've ever seen and the man behind the film is named Todd Field. Todd Field has acted in movies before, including a small, but memorable role in "Eyes Wide Shut." But who knew that he was capable of making such an amazing and powerful film. The beautifully shot formal style of the movie allows for the audience to really live with and learn about the two main characters: Matt and Ruth Fowler (Wilkinson and Spacek) as well as their son, Frank (Nick Stahl). Their son has recently gotten involved in a serious relationship with an older single mother named Natalie (Marisa Tomei) whose former husband is a violent, abusive man.
Seeing Frank and Natalie together, you can see just why Natalie values Frank so much. What makes the movie so poignant is just how well their relationship is sold. It's completely legitimate and they are wonderful together, but Frank's parents are, rightfully, concerned. They're concerned that Frank's throwing his life away since he's so young and being with Natalie means being a father to Natalie's daughter. But, as we begin to find out in the film, there is a lot more to be concerned about.
And what subsequently follows in the movie is so tragic, so shocking and heartbreaking that the film's tone completely shifts and it turns into something else, something brilliant. A lot of movies can kinda lose themselves when they attempt to do what "In the Bedroom" does but Todd Field and co-screenwriter Robert Festinger do a great job of creating such fully-fleshed characters that when something like this happens, you aren't taken out of the movie. In fact, you're even more suck into the movie than ever before.
"In the Bedroom" is a lot like "Fargo" in that it's a deceptively simple crime/drama that is executed to perfection. First-time helmer Todd Field succeeds brilliantly with this material because he makes it about more than what appears on screen. Matt and Ruth Fowler are just two average aging parents who are genuinely nice people that unfortunately get forced to deal with such a terrible situation. And the way they deal with it may not be something you agree with, but it's definitely something you can understand.
And that's what pushes "In the Bedroom" over the edge for me. It introduces you to these nice, sweet characters and it makes you deal with their questionable ethical behavior. This is a quiet movie. It begins quietly and unassumingly and it ends that same way. That's when you realize that this is just one family living in one house in the midst of hundreds of different suburban houses. It could happen to anyone, in any neighborhood, anywhere. And that's what's so chilling and powerful about "In the Bedroom."
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