MOVIE REVIEW … RABBIT HOLE

 

Unless one is able to communicate through a psychic, one will never know what death feels like.  The only ones who do are the people left behind who have to attempt to emotionally recover.  Rabbit Hole uses feelings of loss and longing as the basis for its story.  Effectively told and acted, it’s a compact essay in how people try to move on after death knocks on their door.

Becca (Nicole Kidman) and Howie (Aaron Eckhart) are a happily married couple with a young son.  They are shattered when he is killed by young driver Jason (Miles Teller).  Numb with pain and scarred at the loss, they each find different ways to deal with the tragedy.  While Howie seeks guidance from strangers, Becca forms a strange attachment to Jason.  With their lives torn apart, they both have to discover a way to re-connect with each other and forge a new and enduring path.

Based on an award winning play, Rabbit Hole is a fascinating look at how death makes people behave differently.  Whilst Becca thinks erasing her son from her memories will bring some healing, Howie wants to remember him as his way of keeping him alive.  This conflict drives a wedge between this formerly loving couple with their commitment to each other put to the test.  Played very well by Kidman and Eckhart, their scenes are genuinely convincing and moving as their characters try to sift through the rubble of ruined dreams.

Its title also alludes to the couple’s fractured state as Rabbit Hole is explained as a doorway to the many paths one can take.  With temptation laid in front of Becca and Howie as they struggle with their grief anything can happen making for an intriguing tale.  Whilst it could have used more tangible moments between other characters, it doesn’t take the easy way out in solving the many problems they face as it eventually becomes an oddly life-affirming story.

Death is usually termed as being ‘the end’ of life, although one is never truly gone if they’re never forgotten.  Rabbit Hole effectively conveys these issues with a cast strongly projecting its many meticulous musings.

Movie Review Rating 7 / 10

Movie Review by Patrick Moore

Rabbit Hole released in Australia on Thursday 18^th February 2011.

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