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In the Bedroom (2001)
Rate:
8
Viewed:
1/24
1/24:
They don't make movies like In the Bedroom that often.
It has all the qualities of a Best Picture but is doomed by not being tight enough. There are parts that drag too
much. Had the running length been at least thirty minutes shorter, it would've turned out better. Nevertheless, I'm
impressed with the cast of realistic-looking people. Hence, the performances are outstanding across the board.
Books tend to begin in a way that movies don't: a line or two which will encapsulate the whole story. It's
accomplished when Tom Wilkinson's character made the following moral about lobsters to the boy:
"See, the trap has nylon nets, called 'heads'—two side...side heads to let the lobster crawl in and inside,
what they call a 'bedroom head' to hold the bait and keeps him from escaping. Now, you know the old saying: 'Two's
company, three's a crowd'? Well, it's like that. You, uh, get more than two of these in a bedroom, and chances are
something like that's going to happen."
Perfect. Therefore, the bait is Natalie Strout (Marisa Tomei) which is actually sex. Battling for her are the
current boyfriend and the outed husband. One day, the latter has had enough and kills the former. That's the movie
right there which took a while to arrive at. At first, I thought the theme was about grieving parents who try to
come to terms with the tragedy. Ultimately, it turns out to be a revenge flick just like
Death Wish. I suspect that, like the mother slapping the wife in the face,
it'll be a temporary relief which isn't going to bring their son back.
Now, was it the boy's fault? I have to say no because he, despite stepping into a dangerous situation, wasn't old,
experienced, or mature enough to deal with it. He did confess to his mother that she was only a summer fling. After
waffling back and forth between being a fisherman and a college student, he finally went with the second choice as
an convenient excuse to break off the relationship.
I only have two questions. How many incidents had there been between the wife and husband? If it's a lot, then
yeah...it's her fault for not doing something about it earlier. How much time did the boyfriend have left? Was it
two weeks or less? I'm not blaming him for leaving the domestic squabble alone because he was mainly thinking of
not having to work for it once he left for school. By the way, the strange-looking husband is played by William
Mapother who's Tom Cruise's cousin.
All in all, although In the Bedroom is well-done, it just needs better editing.