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In the Bedroom

The MM - "Beautifully photographed heavy duty drama about a family in Maine dealing with a tragedy. Outstanding individual performances by Tomei, Wilkinson, and Spacek."

Note - The rest of the Goliard Staff agrees with the four hats and would like to mention that one of us spent a good deal of time as a youngster in the town in Maine where the film is shot and no photographic trickery has been employed as it is every bit as beautiful in reality as it appears in the film. If the directors could figure out a way (and we have no doubt they will eventually) to pipe the bracing smells of the coast and clam flats into the theater (sort of an "enscentaround") we might have waxed aswoon in reverie.  The film itself is good but seems confused as to what type of movie it should be. It starts as sort of a suspense thriller and slides into a psychological, familial drama. Since both sections are done fairly well it isn't that much of a problem for those viewers that are able to go with the flow and not let expectations dictate their mood. 

And who'd have thought when we first saw her as Maggie on "A Different World" that Marisa Tomei would evolve into one of the best actresses around. And this Wilkinson guy comes out of nowhere as well. We banged our heads trying to figure out where we'd seen him and finally realized he looks identical to the actor who played the butler who chopped up his daughters in The Shining and has actually had bit parts in a variety of films most notably as one of the gang in The Full Monty.

A junior staffer would like to add that not being able to decide its own film type is one of the movie's strengths and writes - "I don't think it was an accident. In the Bedroom keeps us on on edge as to what kind of a film it will turn out to be. It never settles into a comfortable genre, but balances deliciously on the knife edge. Including, even, through (and beyond) the last scene of the movie. Will it turn out like A Simple Plan? Slingblade? Crimes and Misdemeanors? Something else? Nothing is as clear cut as it seems, and nothing is neatly packaged and pigeonholed. Welcome to an artful rendering of real life. A bit shocking for those raised on the anemic teat of Hollywood's usual monochromatic fare."