In the Bedroom features a dramatically interesting premise. How do a father and mother, who have not been open to their son's relationship with an older woman (who is not yet divorced and who is raising her young son alone), deal with the grief when that relationship results in their son's death?
As such, In the Bedroom could have been an incredible look at grief and the grieving process that a family goes through when losing someone who was on the verge of becoming a successful young man. But In the Bedroom takes a tangential turn in its third act that, in my opinion, undermines the film's premise. It also leaves some of its characters (including two of its main characters) grossly underwritten and underdeveloped.
Tom Wilkinson is truly great (and the main reason to see the film) as the young man's father who seeks relief for his grief through ways that actually lower him to the level of the man who killed his son. Sissy Spacek is good, although her role is one of the two that lacks any depth whatsoever. We are told by Wilkinson's character (after the fact) that she has been a cold-hearted, selfish woman. Yet we haven't really witnessed anything that would prepare us for that revelation. This is, of course, not Spacek's fault. She tries hard in her role and comes off very well, but the intricacies of her character are absent in the writing.
The same goes for Marisa Tomei, as the young mother whose ex-husband has killed her new boyfriend. She gives it her all in a dramatic and very well-played role. But the role, like Spacek's, is underdeveloped and literally disappears with one quarter of the movie still left to go. And her disappearance leaves a large, gaping hole in the development of not only her character, but also of the Spacek character.
A great deal of praise has been heaped on In The Bedroom, and normally such universal praise would indeed signal a praise-worthy movie. But while In The Bedroom has some fine scenes and excellent performances, it is lacking a great deal when it comes to character development. It also forces its hand with overt dashes of "symbolism," such as the title reference and a final shot that does nothing short of hit you over the head with its meaning, almost as if the filmmakers are screaming, "Do you get it?"
As such, In the Bedroom could have been an incredible look at grief and the grieving process that a family goes through when losing someone who was on the verge of becoming a successful young man. But In the Bedroom takes a tangential turn in its third act that, in my opinion, undermines the film's premise. It also leaves some of its characters (including two of its main characters) grossly underwritten and underdeveloped.
Tom Wilkinson is truly great (and the main reason to see the film) as the young man's father who seeks relief for his grief through ways that actually lower him to the level of the man who killed his son. Sissy Spacek is good, although her role is one of the two that lacks any depth whatsoever. We are told by Wilkinson's character (after the fact) that she has been a cold-hearted, selfish woman. Yet we haven't really witnessed anything that would prepare us for that revelation. This is, of course, not Spacek's fault. She tries hard in her role and comes off very well, but the intricacies of her character are absent in the writing.
The same goes for Marisa Tomei, as the young mother whose ex-husband has killed her new boyfriend. She gives it her all in a dramatic and very well-played role. But the role, like Spacek's, is underdeveloped and literally disappears with one quarter of the movie still left to go. And her disappearance leaves a large, gaping hole in the development of not only her character, but also of the Spacek character.
A great deal of praise has been heaped on In The Bedroom, and normally such universal praise would indeed signal a praise-worthy movie. But while In The Bedroom has some fine scenes and excellent performances, it is lacking a great deal when it comes to character development. It also forces its hand with overt dashes of "symbolism," such as the title reference and a final shot that does nothing short of hit you over the head with its meaning, almost as if the filmmakers are screaming, "Do you get it?"