"Rabbit Hole"

Author(s): Alex
Location: Washington State

"Rabbit Hole"

Directed by John Madden
Written by David Lindsay-Abaire (based on his play)

Main Cast

Diane Lane (Becca)
Kathy Bates (Nat)
Greg Kinnear (Howie)
Maria Bello (Izzy)
Haley Joel Osment (Jason)

Tagline: "N/A"

Synopsis: Up until eight months ago, Becca and Howie, along with their five-year old son Danny, lived quite happily. Eight months ago Danny was hit by a car right outside their home. His death has been tearing Becca apart. She is cut off from the world. With no job, she stays at home and everywhere she turns she sees Danny. From his toys, clothes, books, etc. lying around the house. Even at the supermarket, everything she sees is just another reminder. Her relationship with Howie as well as her mother, Nat, and younger sister, Izzy, starts to deteriorate. Nat can be rude and outspoken at times, but she also lost a son, Arthur. Izzy has recently discovered that she is pregnant, something that got her into a barfight with the father's ex-girlfriend. Both want to comfort Becca as best they can but can never get through to her. Howie is doing much better than Becca in terms of coping with Danny's death. He has been attending the support group, while Becca has stayed at home refusing to go. Nat tries to tell her how much comfort helps and that Becca should really reach out for some. That she won't get through the pain without it. One night after Becca has gone to sleep, Howie puts in a home movie of Danny. But it's not Danny. It's a Discovery Channel documentary about tornadoes. He calls Becca down and she explains that she taped the show he wanted to see, but he explains that she taped over the most recent home video of Danny. Howie has a meltdown and accuses Becca of trying to erase him ever existing.

Haunted everywhere she turns, Becca wants to sell the house. Howie is at first very reluctant, but decides to put it on the market. After the first open house, Becca and Nat are out buying groceries. Izzy mentions to Howie that a friend of hers works at a restaurant and that she recently waited on Howie with another woman. Howie is outraged and says that he was with a member of group who had recently lost her young son to leukemia. Shortly after the dispute is settled, Becca and Nat walk in. After they are done putting away the groceries, Becca and Nat head upstairs to Danny's room to sort things into keep/toss piles. They chat and discuss their losses, Becca with Danny and Nat with Arthur. Nat explains that the feeling never really goes away. That unfortunately, it will always stay with her.

One day while having an open house Jason walks in. Jason is the 17 year old boy that ran Danny over. It was an accident, of course, but, nonetheless, he is the one who did it. He has written a short story dedicated to Danny. It is about the son of a scientist. The scientist had been developing ways to reach parallel universes, or rabbit holes. When the scientist dies, his son decides to go through the rabbit holes to find a different version of his father. Not his father, but another version of him, for down the rabbit holes he is still out there.

What the Press would say:

The latest film from director John Madden is "Rabbit Hole", a haunting tale of a family stricken by the loss of their young son. Madden has taken a liking to this sort of material after 2005's "Proof", an underrated film. The film, though you’d expect it to be the most depressing film of your life, turns out to be quite funny and uplifting. The elements of humor present help to take some of the drama out of the characters’ lives.

Diane Lane leads this star-studded cast as the mother, Becca. Lane gives a career defining performance that will finally win her her Oscar. I would point out her best scene, but there really isn't any scene of hers that is better than another. She is great in every second of screen time and she shows it. Every year there is one performance that everyone must see. This is it. Kathy Bates plays Lane's funny, rude, annoying, but most of all heartfelt mother. There is really only one scene where Lane is not the star. That is the one-on-one conversation that Bates shares with Lane. It is absolutely priceless. It's almost as if she's a completely different character than she is in the rest of the film. Also unforgettable is Bates' rant on the Kennedys. While this is a drama, Bates gives us some great comic relief in this scene. But she changes her tone to say that Aristotle Onassis dies because he just couldn't accept the fact that his son dies by accident. She talks about blame and comfort. It is amazing how she can go from a hilarious Kennedy bashing to a dead serious conversation about Lane's well being in the blink of an eye. This is also definitely a performance to watch out for. Greg Kinnear shows us that although he has done mostly comedy in his career, he can also do dramatic roles just as good. Even though they are quite different roles, I'm not afraid to say that this is even better than his role in "As Good As Gets", a film that should have garnished him his first Oscar. As Lane's husband, Kinnear portrays a sense of innocence that another actor might not approach it with. I honestly can't picture any other actor doing this better than Kinnear. Although it is a fairly large role, it isn't quite large enough and Kinnear gets put in the supporting category. For several reasons, his breakdown over the tornado tape, his conversation with Maria Bello, the fairly large size of his role to name a few, Kinnear can definitely be considered as a contender for Best Supporting Actor. Maria Bello plays Izzy, Lane's sister. Bello, while not quite as amazing as Bates, is still astonishing. Her conversation with Kinnear about a possible affair is the best showdown between two people captured on film since Anthony Hopkins and Jodie Foster went face to face.

Like Bates, she brings some great comic relief to her character and also like Bates is able to easily switch from comedy to drama in a heartbeat. From her conversation with Kinnear to her brawl with her boyfriend's ex-girlfriend when the woman learns that Bello is pregnant. All that aside, can anyone explain to me why she doesn't have an Oscar by now, or at least a nomination? While this may not get her her win, she is well on her way to a nomination alongside her co-star. David Lindsay-Abaire pens the screenplay adaptation for his highly acclaimed play, which was nominated for Best Play at the 2006 Tony Awards and won the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. And what a screenplay it is. By far the best I've seen in a long time, and definitely one of the best stage to film transfers ever.

When I walked out of “Rabbit Hole” I actually felt like a better person. I felt like Madden, Abaire, and the cast had really gotten to me. Directing was superb, writing was great, acting was phenomenal, but most of all this was a film that you could tell came straight from the heart. I wouldn't be very surprised to see nominations for this highly emotional, yet highly uplifting drama receive Oscar nominations in the following categories:

Best Picture
Best Director (John Madden)
Best Actress (Diane Lane)
Best Supporting Actor (Greg Kinnear)
Best Supporting Actress (Kathy Bates)
Best Supporting Actress (Maria Bello)
Best Adapted Screenplay (David Lindsay-Abaire)