Rabbit Hole
"Rabbit Hole" is a film from 2010, based on a play of the same name. Seeing the film really made me want to see the play because I bet it is a true tearjerker.
This is a story about loss, acceptance, change and emotion.
We meet a couple (Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart, both superb) 8 months after their son has died after getting hit by a car. Right from the beginning you can tell that their relationship is void of emotion, although they are both trying to live their lives, I believe they think they really cannot do this. They speak to each other, but it's like nothing is being said, or at least they just are hearing each other because they are on different levels. The husband seems to want to move on, with conflicting scenes because he also does not want to seem to let go of his son (or the memory of him, to be more exact, which probably has something to do with the level of denial he is in through the entire film, until the last act)... In fact until the last act the couple is never on the same page and then it's as if something sweeps over both of them and they reach acceptance of loss and their lives now at the same time, is this a reality? would this happen to a real couple dealing with something as heartbreaking as losing a child in a "freak" accident? I don't know, but I understand why they had to in the film.
The fact that they cannot speak, or reach out, to each other is important to move the story along because Nicole Kidman sort of seeks solace in meeting with her son's killer- a teenage boy who'd been driving the car that struck the 4 year old- but there were absolutely no ill feelings towards the teenage boy. Their reason for meeting seems to be for Becca's (Nicole Kidman) benefit. It's almost as if she forgave him a long time ago and she needs to know who this boy is, perhaps because she no longer has a chance to know her own son through his growth. She wants to know his future, mostly.
Aaron Eckhart seeks solace in a woman he meets in a "Group for Grieving Parents" (as well as pot, he smokes it every time they get together). Towards the end of the film, his moment of clarity comes when he visits this woman at her house, but he cannot bring himself to actually go in the house. In this moment, he realizes that his love for his wife conquers all and that she needs him just as much as he needs her, now more than ever. At the same moment Becca is finally breaking down and crying in her car.
I really enjoyed this film and I like the concept of a "Rabbit Hole" as the title because it suggests that life is somewhat of a rabbit hole, meaning you don't know what you get or where you'll end up, but it's important to make an attempt at living (if not just for yourself).
I certainly cannot imagine the loss of a child, and I certainly hope I never have to experience it, but in the few years of my own life, I have learned that communicating is key to any relationship's endurance. That and never giving up if you believe in something and its worth. That is what Aaron Eckhart's character clings to throughout the film, although he deals with things in his own way, you know that he loves his wife. That is promising.
Key Dialogue towards the beginning of the film, which showcases that Becca needs to change:
Nat: You know, Becca, when your brother died, I found the church very helpful.
Becca: I know. I know you did, but that's you. That's not me, and Danny... Danny isn't Arthur.
Nat: You know, I brought you to church every Sunday.
Becca: Let's not start this again, okay, Mom? I'm just... I'm just calling about the cake.
Nat: You're not right about everything, you know? What if there is a God?
Becca: Then I'd say he's a sadistic prick.
Nat: All right, Becca, that's enough.
Becca: "Worship me and I'll treat you like shit." No wonder you like him. He sounds just like Dad.
"Nothing is exempt from change. The only way we can protect ourselves is not to hide behind ourselves behind shut doors and ignore the world around us while we sulk in our own grief but rather we should welcome the world and all it has to offer with open arms and when tragedy occurs, make ourselves more able to cope with these things and comfort others when hard times befall hem. Come what may, if you are able to feel grief then you are still alive and one should see this as a great happiness for once one is dead they would not have the option to waste their life in grief. As sad as this play is, the message it conveys in its theme says not to let ourselves fall into this very same labyrinth of mourning."
This is a story about loss, acceptance, change and emotion.
We meet a couple (Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart, both superb) 8 months after their son has died after getting hit by a car. Right from the beginning you can tell that their relationship is void of emotion, although they are both trying to live their lives, I believe they think they really cannot do this. They speak to each other, but it's like nothing is being said, or at least they just are hearing each other because they are on different levels. The husband seems to want to move on, with conflicting scenes because he also does not want to seem to let go of his son (or the memory of him, to be more exact, which probably has something to do with the level of denial he is in through the entire film, until the last act)... In fact until the last act the couple is never on the same page and then it's as if something sweeps over both of them and they reach acceptance of loss and their lives now at the same time, is this a reality? would this happen to a real couple dealing with something as heartbreaking as losing a child in a "freak" accident? I don't know, but I understand why they had to in the film.
The fact that they cannot speak, or reach out, to each other is important to move the story along because Nicole Kidman sort of seeks solace in meeting with her son's killer- a teenage boy who'd been driving the car that struck the 4 year old- but there were absolutely no ill feelings towards the teenage boy. Their reason for meeting seems to be for Becca's (Nicole Kidman) benefit. It's almost as if she forgave him a long time ago and she needs to know who this boy is, perhaps because she no longer has a chance to know her own son through his growth. She wants to know his future, mostly.
Aaron Eckhart seeks solace in a woman he meets in a "Group for Grieving Parents" (as well as pot, he smokes it every time they get together). Towards the end of the film, his moment of clarity comes when he visits this woman at her house, but he cannot bring himself to actually go in the house. In this moment, he realizes that his love for his wife conquers all and that she needs him just as much as he needs her, now more than ever. At the same moment Becca is finally breaking down and crying in her car.
I really enjoyed this film and I like the concept of a "Rabbit Hole" as the title because it suggests that life is somewhat of a rabbit hole, meaning you don't know what you get or where you'll end up, but it's important to make an attempt at living (if not just for yourself).
I certainly cannot imagine the loss of a child, and I certainly hope I never have to experience it, but in the few years of my own life, I have learned that communicating is key to any relationship's endurance. That and never giving up if you believe in something and its worth. That is what Aaron Eckhart's character clings to throughout the film, although he deals with things in his own way, you know that he loves his wife. That is promising.
Key Dialogue towards the beginning of the film, which showcases that Becca needs to change:
Nat: You know, Becca, when your brother died, I found the church very helpful.
Becca: I know. I know you did, but that's you. That's not me, and Danny... Danny isn't Arthur.
Nat: You know, I brought you to church every Sunday.
Becca: Let's not start this again, okay, Mom? I'm just... I'm just calling about the cake.
Nat: You're not right about everything, you know? What if there is a God?
Becca: Then I'd say he's a sadistic prick.
Nat: All right, Becca, that's enough.
Becca: "Worship me and I'll treat you like shit." No wonder you like him. He sounds just like Dad.
"Nothing is exempt from change. The only way we can protect ourselves is not to hide behind ourselves behind shut doors and ignore the world around us while we sulk in our own grief but rather we should welcome the world and all it has to offer with open arms and when tragedy occurs, make ourselves more able to cope with these things and comfort others when hard times befall hem. Come what may, if you are able to feel grief then you are still alive and one should see this as a great happiness for once one is dead they would not have the option to waste their life in grief. As sad as this play is, the message it conveys in its theme says not to let ourselves fall into this very same labyrinth of mourning."
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