( Review ) In The Bedroom

I’ve had this flick sitting around my apartment for quite a while now.  I had wanted to watch it for a long while, and finally decided to throw it in my list on Netflix.  I started to watch it a few times and would always lose interest, due to the fact that I would watch it around midnight and fall asleep.  However, it’s not a boring movie in the least.

I was drawn to the quiet intimacy of the film.  It is a bit slow at times, but very rewarding in other moments. 

Tom Wilkinson is the most appealing aspect of the film, in my opinion.  Some might say Sissy Spacek was better, but I think I really enjoyed watching Wilkinson’s character more because I could identify him, and he also left the ending somewhat open-ended…something I love with films. 

There is a scene where he’s speaking with his lawyer about the trial, and it makes me feel like I’m watching the thoughts of a real person pan out in a conversation.  The lawyer is telling him a bunch of bullshit, all while fingering some coins in his pocket nervously… because he knows he’s spouting off bullshit to this guy about something very important to his life.  Wilkinson is making this face, like he is about to flip out over the simple sound of the coins jingling… he knows what it means.  It’s so much more than just coins jingling.

I was a little disappointed with the amount of time the film devoted to the couple interaction after the tragedy.  The scene where they do eventually unwind on each other and accuse one another of causing the tragedy is amazing. 

The ending made me wonder about the need for retalliation.  It seemed like in the end, Wilkinson’s character was more conflicted than he was before getting closure… while Spacek’s character seems completely absolved of the depression she was in.