There are not many actresses that polarise Australian audiences the way Nicole Kidman does. But there is little doubt that in Rabbit Hole (of which she is also producer) Nicole puts in a career-best performance and deserves her Academy Award nomination.
Based on David Lindsay-Abaire’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play, Rabbit Hole is about a couple who are struggling with the death of their four-year old son in a car accident. The film opens with Becca (Nicole Kidman) rebuilding her garden when a friendly neighbour accidentally treads on one of the smaller plants. Becca declines her invitation for dinner and is unmoved by the damage. It sets the tone for the movie.
Her husband, Howie (Aaron Eckhart) doesn’t play the stoic husband who moves on. He is just as fragile and pained as she is. This is a very warm, realistic drama that avoids all the clichés.
They go to group therapy, although Becca doesn’t last long before she flares up. Her sister Izzy (Tammy Blanchard) has just fallen pregnant and has moved back in with their mother, Nat (Dianne Wiest) who does her flawed best to help. Becca strike up a friendship with Jason, the teenage driver of the car that killed her son (Miles Teller), while Howie strikes one up with Maggie (Sandra Oh) and pushes the boundaries of his vices. They each take their strength from where they can, and still slip backwards.
There is no real point in going into the storyline; there hardly is one. There are no more dramatic turning points in the plot, only subtle changes and nuances. This is a slice-of-life portrait about the struggle of the grieving to reconnect with their world and each other before they have really reconnected with themselves.
Director John Cameron Mitchell does a lovely job to keep the performances honest and powerful without becoming overwrought. The emotion is so strongly between-the-lines there is no need to hit the audience over the head with it. He tries to find your heart on the way to touching your grieving soul.
Related: Nicole Kidman discusses ‘harrowing’ Rabbit Hole shoot
Ironically, the “ice-queen” criticisms of Kidman work well for her in this role, and she shows great fragility against her Botoxed bravado. Eckhart is always dependable and also puts in a career best. But it is Dianne Wiest who is brilliant and provides the most power. She shows that wrinkles will never diminish real talent. The scene where she talks about “carrying a brick in your pocket” moves me just thinking about it.
However, while I could hear much sniffling in the audience, I felt a little underwhelmed by this film. The lack of an impactful storyline robbed it of more power, but there is no criticising a story which eschews clichés and feel-good endings for raw honesty and subtlety, with a few touches of humour. This is a three-and-a-half star kind of movie. It may not leave you awestruck but it will make you feel.
Your say: Do you think Nicole Kidman is a good actress? Do you think she deserves her Academy Award nomination for this film?
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