Rabbit Hole

Plot synopsis:
Becca and Howie Corbett's four-year-old son Danny is killed in a car accident after he runs out into the street after his dog. Becca wants to give away Danny's clothes, remove Danny's things, and sell their house, but Howie is angry at Becca's elimination of anything that reminds them of their child. Howie also wants to have another child with Becca, but she refuses.
Becca's mother, Nat, has also lost a child—Becca's brother, who died of a drug overdose. Becca states the two deaths are not comparable but eventually realizes their grief is the same in that it will never stop. Becca's sister, Izzy, is pregnant, and Becca keeps giving Izzy advice about becoming a mother, which Izzy resents.
Becca and Howie attend a self-help group, but Becca is irritated by some members of the group, particularly by one couple who attribute their child's death to God's will. Howie continues to attend the meetings without Becca and he and long-time member Gabby start smoking pot in her car before the meetings. They almost begin an affair. However, Howie backs out of it stating he is in love with his wife.
Meanwhile, Becca starts meeting with Jason, the teenaged driver of the car that hit Danny. She discovers he feels guilty and tells him she does not blame him for the accident. Jason tells her about a comic book he is writing called "Rabbit Hole", which is about parallel universes. He brings the book to her at home and as he gives it to Becca, Howie realises who he is and that Becca has been meeting him in secret. Howie is distressed at this revelation and demands that Jason leave immediately. Jason complies but is distraught by Howie's reaction.
Howie and Becca begin to have new activities, such as bowling and playing games and they start to accept their son's death.
Howie and Becca decide to have a garden lunch. The scene begins with Howie telling Becca how the lunch would take place, while simultaneously the screen fades into the lunch as Howie continues to speak in the background. The film ends with Becca and Howie sitting in their garden alone after all their guests have left staring into space. Becca reaches out to Howie and touches his hand. They hold hands affectionately as they continue to sit and stare into space.

Tags: tragedy, boring, entertaining, sentimental

Review:
Aaron Eckhart also gives a terrific performance as the grieving husband and father and, after 'Love Happens', shows that he is back to serious acting as he was in 'The Dark Knight'.The best aspect of Rabbit Hole is how you begin by knowing very little about these characters but end up knowing them as if they were your own neighbors.
The story is about a family, husband (Aaron Eckhart) and wife (Nicole Kidman), that have to deal with the emotional consequences of losing their 4 years old child.
It's a quiet, contemplative film, brimming with sadness and humor, and lead by a wonderful central performance.Nicole Kidman returns to the theme that first brought her to international attention - that of a mother grieving the loss of a child, and the emotional aftermath that such a trauma entails.
This is her most fully-rounded character and detailed performance in years - nimble, layered and completely magnetic.Becca's journey with her husband Howie (Aaron Eckhart), eight months after the tragic accident that killed their son, is beautifully captured by Cameron Mitchell's lens.
This strand of the story, exploring the idea of parallel universes and fate, gives the story a unique edge and Miles Teller is easily the stand out of the supporting cast.Ultimately what gives this film its power is that Mitchell's focus is always fiercely rooted in the reality of the situation, side-stepping the potential sentimentality of the subject - biting humor undercuts the sorrow and there certain moments of confrontation between Becca, Howie and Jason that strike quite a visceral chord.
Everybody, who likes good dramas which are based on a tragic stories and concentrates on the relationships between characters, will fancy this film very much.Aaron Eckhart and Nicole Kidman are a great couple here.
Recently I saw Rabbit Hole, a drama that centers on a married couple that includes Becca (Played by Nicole Kidman), and Howie (Played by Aaron Eckhart), who are going through a tough time.
Still, as thoughtful as the writing and direction may be, the film can't help but feel stagy at points, and a tad distracted.Regardless, I recommend seeing it, if only to behold the performances of Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart.
This is a very emotional movie and you cant helped but be moved by what happens in Becca & Howie's world and the way their relationship unfolds after the death of their son.
Sensitive drama from writer David Lindsay-Abaire, based upon his play, about a benumbed married couple, mourning the death of their little boy, who seek different paths to deal with their grief; the wife forms a tentative friendship with the teenager who hit the child accidentally with his car, while the husband contemplates having an affair.
this film is bold,beautiful,emotional,touching with some excellent performances from Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart.this is one of Nicole's best performances.Also Miles Teller deserves a special mention.he appears in a small part and he has acted well too.Iam sure that this film will definitely win many awards.Allover this film is a beautifully crafted emotional drama.I only wish this film had more running time.Its not just a film.Its an experience I loved it.I give this movie 10/10..
Rabbit Hole is an intense portrayal of the grief and bereavement underwent by a suburban couple, Becca & Howie (Nicole Kidman & Aaron Eckhart), after the sudden and tragic demise of their only child.
The feature is based on a Pulitzer winning play of the same name written by David Lindsay-Abaire and directed by John Cameron Mitchell.The film is backed by incredible acting from Nicole Kidman who starred as Becca, Aaron Eckhart who played Howie and Dianne Wiest who played Nat, Becca's mother.
Rabbit hole definitely belongs here.Becca(Kidman) and Howe( Echkert) play a couple who have lost their young son in a car accident.
Grand performances open a window to people's pain of the hardest kind, and David Lindsay-Abaire's screenplay from his Pulitzer Prize winning play allow for a truer look at events no one is equipped to handle.Eight months after losing their young son Danny in a car crash, Becca (Nicole Kidman) and Howie (Aaron Eckhart) are past the point of the shock and now are left in a living purgatory of despair.
Fine supporting performances from Diane Wiest as Becca's mother who compares tragedy with the loss of her son and Sandra Oh as a professional wallower at the self help groups Howie and Becca attend, fill out a tough but challenging film that will take you down the rabbit hole."This" will take you down the rabbit hole.John 17:24.
Based on a script by David Lindsay-Abaire from his Pulitzer Prize-winning play of the same name, John Cameron Mitchell's Rabbit Hole depicts the grief of a young couple, Becca (Nicole Kidman) and her husband Howie (Aaron Eckhart) after their four-year old son Danny is killed by a teenage driver when he runs into the street chasing his dog.Though Becca and Howie are materially comfortable and live in an upper class suburban home, they are not spared from tragedy, an equal-opportunity antagonist that does not care about economic circumstances.
I mean, one knows what to expect in a sort of film like this, and while Rabbit Hole is certainly another heavy drama, it still feels rather unique and personally motivated.The screenplay is effective, having strong characterization that is only helped by a strong cast.
this is one the most descent movies I've seen this year so far,Nicole Kidman and Aaron Ekhart performance is top of the line.I saw Shortbus from the directer John Cameron Mitchell 2 years ago and I have to admit that I liked it,so when I had the opportunely to see the Rabbit Hole I grabbed it and believe me I was not disappointed.
the story is bit depressing,the death of a young kid and its effect on a family,and how every things falling apart around them.then the psychological aspect of the bizarre relationship between Kidman and a teenager who supposedly was involved in the child's accident.and the infusion of a comic book (Rabbit hole)into the story that at the beginning seems out of place but fits well at the end and makes sense finally..
Based upon the 2007 play by David Lindsay-Abaire who also provided the screenplay for this translation to the big screen, Rabbit Hole is a one of a kind powerful dramatic piece that owes it to both Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart to play the central characters of Becca and Howie as the married couple coming to grips with the death of their young son.
Directed by John Cameron Mitchell, this snapshot of the couple's life is an examination of how people deal with immense grief, and thankfully isn't plodding on melodrama, but reliant on strong scenes that bring out both the best and worst of human emotions without going overboard.There are many ways in which we deal with grief.
There were moments of unintentional comedy that plays on ambiguity and perception during the part where Aaron Eckhart's Howie hosts a prospective family to whom to sell a house to, and that was as effectively movie yet comical in a bleak manner, ramming home the point that he's perhaps the more sentimental of the couple in finding it difficult to let go.Not willing to be outshone by Aaron Eckhart, Nicole Kidman also puts on an Oscar winning performance as the housewife who had given up her high flying career, and becomes almost like a recluse in not wanting to mix too much with neighbours and friends lest they bring up her deceased kid inadvertently.
There's a mix of emotions that Kidman displays brilliantly through the many subplots her character got involved in, from that with her sister's pregnancy out of wedlock no thanks to her musician boyfriend, and that of stalking her son's killer (Miles Teller), the latter of which subtly begins a healing process that's undoubtedly painful, before finding solace in the difficulties of enacting forgiveness.What also made the film powerful is how restraint it is in telling its story, without finding the urge to want to put everything verbatim on screen.
We don't need to see what happened so much as how the characters deal with it.Although in the beginning Nicole Kidman reveals a little bit of her Australian dialect, the rest of the movie she is believable as an American mother who has lost her son.
Becca needs this as her and her husband Howie (Aaron Eckhart) are continually fighting over keeping memories of their son or getting a fresh start by not clinging to what has gone.The relationship between Becca and her mom Nat (Dianne Wiest) was well-done, as we find out that Nat also lost a child at 30 years of age.
Rabbit Hole (2010) **** (out of 4) Becca (Nicole Kidman) and Howie (Aaron Eckhart) are a married couple trying to put their lives back together eight months after their 4-year-old child ran out into a road chasing his dog and was struck and killed by a car.
Not all soon-to-be parents would want to watch a film about parents who have to cope with the loss of their four-year-old son.The untimely death affects Becca (Nicole Kidman) and Howie (Aaron Eckhart) in different ways.
The highlights of "Rabbit Hole" are the truly superb performances from Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart as Becca and Howie, a young couple struggling to put the pieces of their lives and their marriage back together after the death of their young son in a car accident.
Howie begins a friendship with a woman from the "group" that seems to lead him finally to the realization that he needs to save his marriage, while Becca strikes up a bizarre friendship with the teenage driver of the car that struck and killed her son (Jason, played by Miles Teller.) The movie's title is taken from a comic book that Jason is writing called "Rabbit Hole" which deals with the idea of parallel universes, and which seems to comfort Becca by convincing her that somewhere there's a place where she's living a happy life, presumably with her son still alive.This is a heavy movie.
What really makes this movie work, though, are the performances from Kidman and Eckhart, who each manage to portray the numbness their characters are still feeling eight months after their son's death and who lead us convincingly through a series of emotional ups and downs.
What the film does feature, however, are some of the best acting performances you will ever see, as well as a unflinching look at grief and how one couple try to cope with it.For a basic plot summary, "Rabbit Hole" focuses on Becca (Nicole Kidman) & Howie (Aaron Eckhart), a couple who lost their young son in a terrible accident.
The story itself doesn't have many arcs, its unrelentingly gloomy, following a middle class couple 8 months after the death of their young son who was hit by a car while chasing their dog into the street.The grief displayed by Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart is raw and well portrayed in its many forms as the couple shun friends and neighbours while the icy 'Becca' tries to banish memories of her deceased son by disposing of his possessions and Howie lives in the past.
They attend group therapy (together for a while) and Howie befriends the (pot smoking) Sandra Oh. Becca in turn secretly meets with the driver of the car that killed Danny and tries to come to terms with her sisters impending birth and her mothers own loss.This is a couple barely hanging on, its powerful and raw, often painful to watch but worth the effort for the convincing performances.I loved all the leads in this; Sandra Oh, Aaron Eckhart and Nicole Kidman always does a great job.
Becca (Nicole Kidman) and Howie Corbett (Aaron Eckhart) are holding it together after their son Danny is killed by teen driver Jason (Miles Teller).
John Cameron Mitchell's first actual drama is a well-shot and well-directed adaptation of David Lindsay-Abaire's Pulitzer Prize-winning play (of the same name).Becca (Nicole) and Howie (Aaron) lost their their young 4-year-old son Danny eight months ago in a car accident, and they are still stuck in a maze of guilt, longing, regret, memory, pain, and rage, and a state of meaninglessness.It's mainly the stellar cast which boosts this strong emotional journey with their powerful acting.
However, the are hardly any bright moments and the ending could have different as well.The cast is great and the characters are well elaborated: I liked Nicole Kidman as Becca Corbett, Aaron Eckhart as Howie Corbett, and Dianne Wiest as Nat most; I was less impressed by Tammy Blanchard as Izzy and Miles Teller as Jason (instead of the latter I would have preferred e.g. Logan Lerman or Anton Yelchin).In other words, the movie is primarily watchable due to strong performers, but it is hardly a movie you like to watch repeatedly - although it is short (1h 20 min.).
Kidman plays a mother who had recently lost her 4 year old son in an accident and how she and her husband Howie (Aaron Eckhart) try to move on from the grief.
John Cameron Mitchell's "Rabbit Hole" is a heart-breaking, somewhat depressing film that deals with one of the worst tragedies a couple can face.
KIdman repeatedly plays the fragile, emotive, little girl, self-indulgent, I understand vulnerable.....which often sucks the life out of a simple, intelligent story whatever the cinematic genre.Rabbit Hole is a sad, neurotic movie and all the actors know why they chose this holiday..
The adaptation of David Lindsay-Abaire's play aims to tackles this tough subject in a really well action drama, Rabbit Hole.Becca (Nicole Kidman) and Howie Corbett (Aaron Eckhart), are a well-off married in Yonkers, New York, who are struggling with the grief after the death of their son eight months ago.
Their marriage is struggling and soon both of them go on their own journeys: Becca starts to follow and befriend the boy, Jason (Miles Teller) who ran over her son and Howie continues with going to group therapy when he starts to get close with another woman, Gabby (Sandra Oh).Rabbit Hole is clearly an actors film and it was clear the characters were what the actors were interested in.
There is a broad theme of moving on for all the characters, Becca and Howie in their problems of their grief and relationship, the relationship between Becca and her mother and Becca's sister Izzy (Tammy Blanchard) is forced to grow up from the woman who gets into bar fights, to someone who has to accept responsible when she finds out she is pregnant.Rabbit Hole is at times an awkward watch and it is hard to call it entertainment.
Rabbit Hole is a movie based on a play by David Lindsay-Abaire, starring Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart it deals with the aftermath of this terrible tragedy.
And it is not useful at all, unless you already know a thing or two about how personal people are when dealing with anything life throws at them.Nicole Kidman, Aaron Eckhart, Miles Teller, Sandra Oh are the pick of the actors for me, but everyone was really immense and if nothing else this film is about great acting..
As a result, scenes that should hit like a gut punch, like one in which Nicole Kidman's brittle, suffocated mother assaults another mom in a grocery store, flit by so quickly and so independently of anything on either side of it, that it carries almost no emotional weight.Despite this, there are scenes that hit home, like a lovely soliloquy in which Dianne Wiest, as Kidman's mom, tells her how the grief over a dead child evolves over time, or the ending, in which Kidman and Aaron Eckhart, as her husband, decide to stop fighting each other and tentatively face a future with a black hole at its center.Mitchell, whose "Hedwig and the Angry Inch" I loved and whose "Shortbus" I very much admired, feels oddly out of touch with the material, as if someone who doesn't at all understand what it would be like to lose a child decided to make a movie about that very thing and could only guess at the emotions involved.I wanted to like "Rabbit Hole" much more than I did.Grade: B.
Fortunately, her role in Rabbit Hole takes the maximum advantage from that talent, and I think that she brings one of the best performances from her career in this film.The only thing I can say against this movie is that a few details from the screenplay could have been better polished.
One of the best responses to parallel universe theory comes from the film Rabbit Hole where Nicole Kidman sighs on a park bench and says, "Somewhere out there I'm having a good time." Becca and Howie (Kidman and Aaron Eckhart) are an affluent Connecticut couple whose four year old son ran out into the street chasing a dog and was hit and killed by a car.
More than being just a mundane drama with a familiar plot Rabbit Hole delivers powerful performances and twists in the story which makes it special.Nicole Kidman is annoyingly yet wonderfully portrays Becca which is a very challenging role in her recent career.
It is so easy to believe and associate with Becca (Nicole Kidman) and Howie (Aaron Eckhart) making Rabbit Hole so realistic, it's incredible.
After their four year old son dies after getting hit by a car, Becca & Howie (Kidman & Eckhart) try to move on.
But the performance of Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart as Becca and Howie Corbett moves past the shock of loss.
Nicole Kidman as Becca wife of Aaron Eckhart's character Howie tries to cope on her own with the accidental loss of her only child.
Becca (Nicole Kidman) and Howie (Aaron Eckhart) are attempting to paste together their lives since the loss 8 months ago of their only child Danny in a freak automobile accident: Danny was chasing his dog into the street and was hit and killed by teenage driver Jason (Miles Teller).