RABBIT HOLE
RYAN: Almost every year Nicole Kidman makes a movie that’s a bid for an Oscar nomination, and this year it’s Rabbit Hole.
CAROLINE: It’s based on the Pulitzer Prize winning Broadway play that also won Sex and the City’]s Cynthia Nixon a Tony, so it had cred to begin with. I really, really liked this movie.
RYAN: Nicole’s co-star is Aaron Eckhart, one of our favorite actors. I loved this movie too even though it’s about a couple who loses a child. It’s intense and sad, but it’s handled with great care and even a little comedy.
CAROLINE: Fortunately, the movie takes place after the fact, so you don’t have to relive the horror of the child’s death. I thought I was going to weep my eyes out, but I actually didn’t even shed a tear. I came close though. It’s certainly emotional. But my very first thought during the first scene was “Wow, Nicole Kidman’s lips are a horror! But at least she has a Botox-free forehead.”
RYAN: I think she times her Botox injections between filming, so then when she’s out promoting a movie, she looks like a frozen ghost.
CAROLINE: I’m a little bit over Nicole Kidman lately. Obviously, she’s a good actress, but I think she’s overexposed and slightly overrated. And she doesn’t do the best American accent in this movie.
RYAN: I’ve heard her do a better American accent, but I still love her. There’s something about her that’s so compelling and exquisite. She totally makes me feel something when she acts. Dianne Wiest plays her mother, and she’s great as usual.
CAROLINE: The whole cast is great. I really liked the girl who played Nicole’s sister, and I recognized her from something.
RYAN: Her name is Tammy Blanchard and she played a young Judy Garland in a TV movie several years ago.
CAROLINE: There’s also a teenage boy who completely blew me away. His scenes with Nicole Kidman are phenomenal and very moving.
RYAN: That kid was great. Not hot at all, but so good. This movie feels like a real slice-of-life, like you’re really seeing what it’s like to go through a loss like this. Sandra Oh from TV’s Grey’s Anatomy is also in it.
CAROLINE: I loved seeing her in a non-Grey’s role! It’s been so long, and it was awesome to see her play someone other than Christina. I think I forgot what a good actress she is. Overall, I was really impressed by this movie, because the buzz I’d heard about it was more that it was an OK movie with great acting; but I found the whole thing to be great.
RYAN: Totally. It’s the kind of movie that doesn’t necessarily have to be seen on the big screen, but it’s such great quality and such an awesome cast that it’s so worth seeing. It’s directed by John Cameron Mitchell, who’s best known for creating and directing the indie musical, Hedwig and the Angry Inch.
CAROLINE: I saw him on Broadway many years ago. He’s really making a name for himself with this movie.
— BOTTOM LINE —
RYAN: People might be apprehensive to see this movie because of its subject matter, and yes, you do have to buckle up for it. But it’s so brilliantly written and so well cast that it’s really a no regrets experience – for a mature audience, that is.
CAROLINE: Yes, it’s definitely for the older set. You shouldn’t shy away from this movie because you think it’s too sad. It’s not too heavy and it’s not a major weeper. Obviously the subject matter is devastating, but it’s so worth seeing for really great performances and a moving story.
— RATING —
