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In the Bedroom (2001) 7.4
Ratings:
7.4/10 from 26,220 users
Metascore: 86/100
Reviews: 501 user | 163 critic | 31 from Metacritic.com A New England couple's college-aged son dates an older woman with two small children and an unwelcome ex-husband. Then something terrible occurs in this wrenching, emotional drama. Director:Todd Field |
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Cast
| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Tom Wilkinson | ... | ||
| Sissy Spacek | ... | ||
| Nick Stahl | ... | ||
| Marisa Tomei | ... | ||
| William Mapother | ... | ||
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William Wise | ... | |
| Celia Weston | ... | ||
| Karen Allen | ... | ||
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Frank T. Wells | ... | |
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W. Clapham Murray | ... | |
| Justin Ashforth | ... | ||
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Terry A. Burgess | ... |
District Attorney
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Jonathan Walsh | ... | |
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Diane E. Hamlin | ... |
Davis' Assistant
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| Camden Munson | ... | ||
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Plot Summary
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Add Synopsis
Storyline
The Fowlers are a normal family in Maine. Matt is the town doctor and loves to fish, his wife, Ruth, is the school's choir leader, and their son, Frank, is home from his first year of college. Frank is in love with Natalie, a young mother who isn't quite divorced yet from her ex-husband, Richard Strout, whose family runs the local cannery. It makes Richard's blood run cold to see his wife running around with another man. And soon, an unthinkable tragedy happens that will tear the Fowlers apart... Written by Will
Taglines:
A young man. An older woman. Her ex-husband. Things are about to explode...Parents Guide:
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Details
Country:
USARelease Date:
11 January 2002 (USA) See more »Also Known As:
A hálószobában See more »Box Office
Budget:
$1,700,000 (estimated)Opening Weekend:
£87,294 (UK) (25 January 2002)Gross:
$35,918,429 (USA) (10 May 2002)Company Credits
Show detailed
company contact information
on
IMDbPro »
Technical Specs
Runtime:
|Sound Mix:
Dolby DigitalColor:
Color (CFI)Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1
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Bulgarian Traditional
Performed by The Newark Balkan Girls Chorus
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Did You Know?
Trivia
The movie is set in Camden, Maine, a town in the mid-coast region of Maine. It is also quite accurate with the mannerisms, dialect, and social customs of those areas. See more »Goofs
In several scenes, the Fowlers are drinking Moxie soda, a brand most people think disappeared in the 1950s. It still exists in Maine and a few other locations around northern New England. See more »Crazy Credits
This film is dedicated to Andre Dubus and is based on his short story "Killings". See more »Soundtracks
"Zeni Me, Mamo"Bulgarian Traditional
Performed by The Newark Balkan Girls Chorus
See more »
9 out of 10
Watching Todd Field's feature film debut `In the Bedroom,' I could not help but be impressed by the sheer audacity of the film, by the spot-on performances, and by the many twists and turns that no critic should reveal. Yet amidst all the film's obvious strengths, there was still something missing-something to tie it all together, something to endow the film with more than just a fleeting impression.
Ironically perhaps, I was provided this missing bit of information not by the film, but by a male audience member sitting at the end of my aisle, trying to explain the point of the film in less than derogatory terms to his female companion.
`You're missing the whole point of the film,' he said. `It was all about men being controlled by women.'
No doubt he read this interpretation from someone else's review of the film (and what a sweet piece of justice it would be if that critic were a woman). It is quite possible that he was not even aware of the ramifications of what he had said. But this man's legitimacy aside, his statement has not left me since, and the film in turn has had the same luck in escaping me.
We are first introduced to Frank Fowler (Nick Stahl, `Bully') and Natalie Strout (Marisa Tomei, `My Cousin Vinny'), he a young college student with no immediate plans to settle down, she an older divorcee raising two children. They are in love, though for Frank she is little more than a `summer fling.' Meanwhile Natalie's ex-husband, Richard (William Mapother, `Mission: Impossible 2'), is unwilling to let her out of his life, and begins to be physically abusive to Frank. Frank's parents, Matt (Tom Wilkinson, `The Full Monty') and Ruth (Sissy Spacek, `The Straight Story')-both in top form here-show appropriate concern for their only son, and they intervene in this dangerous love triangle with unexpected twists and tragic results.
The film jumps about in tone from a light romantic romp to a seeming political treatise to a creepy, nocturnal thriller. Some have criticized the film for this alleged inconsistency in tone, slow pacing, and a deliberate ending. But these naysayers have overlooked the point.
Frank may not even really love Natalie, so much as he loves being controlled by her and sating his mother by being with her. Richard becomes a threat to everyone because he is unwilling to let Natalie consider him out of her life; he is a slave to her whim. The resulting tension reveals a rift between Frank's parents, and in particular, his father's actions in the end demonstrate a helpless allegiance to his wife and her command.
Field, who up until now has been primarily an actor (he was the piano player in `Eyes Wide Shut'), understands these important points but does not beat the viewer over the head with them. He presents a reality more raw and true than any other piece of film in recent memory. Yet he does so with a restraint that Hollywood seems to have forgotten. Most of the film's violence is overheard or implied, and only explicitly shown when necessary for the audience to completely understand what has happened. This allows for more subtle details, like a bridgekeeper who must run around in circles to alternate traffic between the road and the sea, to emerge as truly haunting, lasting images.
But `In the Bedroom' is not about any of these things. It is, first and foremost, about its characters. It does not fall prey to plot mechanics, nor does it flinch at exploring even the most sympathetic characters' darkest sides. For this and so many other reasons which are best left discussed behind closed doors between loved ones, `In the Bedroom' succeeds at turning the camera on flawed relationships of all forms, and it is one of the best films of the year.