Movies

Rabbit Hole
John Cameron Mitchell and Aaron Eckhart
Ellie Caulkins Opera House
3 November 2010

Rabbit Hole is an intimate little drama about a couple dealing with the loss of their only child.

A Taste for the Theatrical

As with virtually all stage productions, while the writing is key, the performances are what sell the material. In the wrong hands, even the most wrenching dramatic material can fall flat and carry the hollow ring of pure fabrication. In the case of Rabbit Hole, the movie offers a trio of tremendous, soulful performances that effectively capture the nauseating anguish of lives turned upside-down.

Nicole Kidman (Moulin Rouge!) plays Becca, the grieving mother struggling to find peace within herself and understanding of what happened; Aaron Eckhart (The Dark Knight) is Howie, the husband trying to move forward while also maintaining the relationship he has with wife. And then there's Miles Teller, who makes his feature film debut as Jason, the teenage driver who accidentally hits the child with his car.

These three main characters all deal with the loss in their own way.

Becca retreats, while also reaching out to Jason in order to establish a bridge of understanding. For his part, Howie seeks companionship - and soft drugs - with Gaby (Sandra Oh, Sideways), a fellow attendee of painfully unproductive therapy sessions.

As for Jason, he finds self-expression and catharsis in a comic book he's writing and drawing. It's called Rabbit Hole.

SDFF Opening Night

David Lindsay-Abaire wrote the screenplay based on his own stage play. John Cameron Mitchell, no stranger to the stage with the phenomenal success of Hedwig and the Angry Inch, directs the material with a degree of sensitivity and understanding that only personal experience can provide. His younger brother died at the age of 4, when Mitchell was 14. Adding to the poignancy of the evening as a whole, Mitchell thanked his parents for being in attendance and noted that the day before would've been his brother's 37th birthday.

But given all the thematic elements of loss, death, and rudderless lives, Rabbit Hole is a story about looking, searching, madly chipping away and searching for a glimmer of light.

That aspect, the light at the end of the tunnel, certainly shines on Mitchell. He's a funny guy. Funny to the point that he seems to have some affectations and mannersims reminiscent of comedian Dana Carvey (perhaps most famous for Garth in Wayne's World and another Saturday Night Live character, the Church Lady).

Meeting Eckhart and Mitchell on the red carpet at the Starz Denver Film Festival was a pleasure. Both are approachable, likeable guys. But, more importantly that evening, they were both very patient with me while I dealt with a technological mishap involving my too-new digital camera. At least the BlackBerry Torch was available for backup duty.

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