In the Bedroom – 2001
The first time I had seen this film in 2001, I was unimpressed. I thought it was trying too hard to be dramatic. It seemed to be pushing for an Oscar nomination. But now I am giving it a little more credit. The drama was good and the acting was incredible. Sissy Spacek and Tom Wilkinson both turned some very intense performances. They were both nominated for Best Actress and Best Actor, but Marissa Tomei was also nominated for Best Supporting Actress.
The story took place in Camden, Maine, and followed Matt and Ruth Fowler. They are fine and upstanding members of a middle class community. Matt is a doctor, and Ruth is a choir director. And since I’m on the subject, she wasn’t a very good one. Having been involved in choral music all my life, I thought it seemed like she had just learned the motions for the part and they were not yet comfortable for her. Anyway, their college-age son, Frank, was played by Nick Stahl. As the film begins, Frank is dating Natalie, an older woman with two young children.
Everything is going well, the only conflict being that Frank is supposed to be going back to school soon, except that he is falling in love with Natalie. Then we meet Natalie’s ex-husband, Richard, played by William Mapother. He is a violent and unpredictable man who seems to have had a history of physically abusing Natalie. She tries to tell him that she doesn’t want him in her life or the lives of her kids. He becomes enraged and Natalie calls Frank for help. When he arrives, a struggle ensues and Richard shoots and kills him. Natalie hears the gunshot and runs to him. Tomei’s reaction when she first sees him dead was very well-acted.
The bulk of the movie takes a serious look at the effect this has on Matt and Ruth. We see how their worlds are turned upside-down. The emotions range from sorrow and depression to anger and rage. Things are made worse when it becomes clear that because of a technicality, Richard might have an easy jail sentence of maybe five years or so. This is not enough to satisfy the grieving parents. They want the murderer to be locked away for the rest of his life.
This is where Spacek and Wilkinson really shined. Their performances were incredibly polished. They were both angry, though at times, they seemed to take their anger out on each other for allowing such a tragedy to occur. Spacek has always been a pretty strong actress, but the only other part I have seen Wilkinson play was in The Full Monty in 1997, a comedic role. He really turned in a powerful dramatic performance here.
And the film’s end was haunting. The only way Matt could satisfy his and Ruth’s sense of justice was to find Richard, who was out on bail and awaiting trial, was to murder him. He got the help of his close friend, Willis, played by William Wise. Together, the two men made it look as though Richard was jumping bail and leaving town. But in reality, they kidnapped him, took him out into the woods, and ended his life, and buried the body. After the deed was done, Matt returned home and found Ruth sitting in bed and smoking a cigarette. She asks him, “Did you do it?” He doesn’t answer. She gets up to casually start her day, making breakfast as if nothing had happened. Matt seems to be horrified by what he has done and cannot bring himself to speak. The credits begin to roll.
It was a heavy and enigmatic ending. But my problem with it was that I’m not sure it was within Matt’s character to commit murder. Ruth probably could have done it, but not Matt. Either way, it made me question where justice ended and revenge began. The line had gotten blurred. I mean, by that point in the movie, Matt and Ruth had pretty much resolved their anger toward each other, and their relationship was healing. But maybe that was the point. Maybe it was that healing and newfound understanding between them that prompted Matt to kill Richard. He did it for Ruth.
The script was actually very well crafted. There seemed to be very little that showed up on the screen that didn’t need to be there. This was thanks to some great directing by Todd Field. And I also have to recognize the wonderful cinematography by Antonio Calvache. The distinctly New England look and feel was unmistakable. And lastly, I have to mention the sad and understated score, written by Thomas Newman. It was beautiful, melancholy, and tragic.
And as a final thought, I’ll explain the title of the movie. You see, Frank, before he died, worked as a lobster fisherman. The back of the lobster trap is called the bedroom. When catching the crustaceans, if more than two of them end up in the bedroom, they will turn on each other and fight. And you might say that it was an effective metaphor for Frank, Natalie, and Richard. But the analogy might also apply to Matt, Ruth, and their grief. Anyway, it was effective story-telling, even if the overly-dramatic and haunting ending stretched believability a little. But that didn’t make it any less enjoyable to watch.