In the Bedroom (2001)

A New England couple's college-aged son dates an older woman who has two small children and an unwelcome ex-husband.

Director:

Todd Field

Writers:

Andre Dubus (story "Killings"), Robert Festinger (screenplay) (as Rob Festinger)

Stars:

Tom Wilkinson, Sissy Spacek, Nick Stahl

Nominated for 5 Oscars. Another 38 wins & 69 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tom Wilkinson	...	Matt Fowler
Sissy Spacek	...	Ruth Fowler
Nick Stahl	...	Frank Fowler
Marisa Tomei	...	Natalie Strout
William Mapother	...	Richard Strout
William Wise	...	Willis Grinnel
Celia Weston	...	Katie Grinnel
Karen Allen	...	Marla Keyes
Frank T. Wells	...	Henry
W. Clapham Murray	...	Carl
Justin Ashforth	...	Tim Bryson
Terry A. Burgess	...	District Attorney
Jonathan Walsh	...	Father McCasslin
Diane E. Hamlin	...	Davis' Assistant
Camden Munson	...	Jason Strout

Storyline

In idyllic Mid-Coast Maine, the Fowler family's only son Frank comes home from his freshman year at college for summer vacation. His mother Ruth, the school choir director, is unhappy with Frank dating soon-to-be divorced mother Natalie who is several years his senior, but Frank's father Matt, the town doctor, doesn't see a problem. While Frank considers holding off his future for Natalie, her jilted husband causes them all problems until an unthinkable tragedy shakes the community to its very core.

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Plot Keywords:

vigilantism | school choir | maine | dysfunctional family | doctor | 

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Taglines:

A young man. An older woman. Her ex-husband. Things are about to explode...

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some violence and language

Details

Official Sites:

Official site YoVideo (French)

Country:

USA

Language:

English Serbo-Croatian

Release Date:

8 February 2002 (USA)

Also Known As:

A hálószobában

Filming Locations:

Belfast, Maine, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,700,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$93,972, 25 November 2001, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$35,930,604

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$43,368,779, 12 October 2003

Company Credits

Production Co:

Good Machine, Standard Film Company, GreeneStreet Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

130 min 138 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color (CFI)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Nominated for five Academy Awards. Won none of them.

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Goofs

Matt's hair changes between shots during their argument in the living room.

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Quotes

Ruth: Oh, come on, you've heard the same things I have.
Matt: You seem to forget, I don't take my lunches in the teachers' lounge.

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Crazy Credits

Graham Leader gratefully acknowledges ... Ann, Kira & Saks.

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Connections

Featured in The 74th Annual Academy Awards (2002)

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Soundtracks

Happy Birthday to You
(1893) (uncredited)
Written by Mildred J. Hill and Patty S. Hill
Sung a cappella by William Mapother

User Reviews

perhaps not my favorite film but a perfect one.

A dark story told with amazing weight and balance, it is cinematically perfect. Aside from the excellent performances by Wilkinson, Spacek and Tomei, it is

Field's film. He uses a deft touch to examine the lives of a couple devastated by loss. The perfection of this film lies in the small touches, the subtle gestures, the powerful symbolism that Field displays throughout. Even the most powerful

moment, the shooting, is done off camera. It isn't so much what you see, its what you don't, what Field implies throughout the film. He creates moments in this movie that convey complex emotion through subtle actions. The film creates

unsettling scenes without being disturbing. Reflections of actors moving as if underwater through their lives, we see them caught in the windows of their

home, ghosts in their house and in their lives, struggling to cope until the film's resolution. Attempting to heal each other and themselves through a single act of redemption that seems at the same time surprising and inevitable. It isn't my favorite movie, but i still think it's as close to a perfect film i've seen.