Published: Friday, October 19, 2007
'Things We Lost' is subtly intimate
Although Halle Berry gets top billing, and despite an ad campaign that aims the film at female audiences, "Things We Lost in the Fire" is strongest at describing a friendship between two men.
Maybe this isn't completely surprising, since the film's director, Susanne Bier, has done sharp work on male behavior before, notably in "Brothers" and "After the Wedding." Those movies were made in Denmark, where she has spent her career up until now.
"Things We Lost" takes place in the aftermath of death. Audrey, played by Berry, is struggling with the sudden death of her husband, Brian (David Duchovny). She feels compelled to reach out to his longtime friend -- a man she's never liked -- Jerry, played by Benicio Del Toro.
This sets up an incongruous situation. Jerry, a drug addict who looks like an unmade bed (and only Del Toro can achieve this level of unmade-bedness), moves into the family garage in Audrey's upscale neighborhood.
Despite his scruffy appearance and multiple problems, he gets along well with Audrey's two kids, as well as a henpecked neighbor (John Carroll Lynch) who seems to think Jerry is a kind of bohemian hero.
Through the first half of the movie, Brian's presence is felt in a series of flashbacks. Bier treats these sequences with real understanding as she explores the nature of Brian's loyalty and Jerry's neediness … neither of which Audrey understands.
Bier has an intimate touch that obviously creates a comfortable zone for actors. Del Toro's shaggy performance is the real attraction, and Duchovny does his best film work. Alison Lohman is sharp in a somewhat extraneous role as Jerry's AA buddy.
Berry is, as always, willing to put herself through agony, and Bier manages to get a more nuanced turn from her than the pulp stuff Berry delivers in movies like "Perfect Stranger" or "Gothika."
Eventually "Things We Lost" falls too neatly into the Hollywood "recovery" movie (someday somebody should count the number of films that include Alcoholics Anonymous as a crucial plot device). But Bier's talent for finding the emotional temperature of a house is undeniable.
Maybe this isn't completely surprising, since the film's director, Susanne Bier, has done sharp work on male behavior before, notably in "Brothers" and "After the Wedding." Those movies were made in Denmark, where she has spent her career up until now.
"Things We Lost" takes place in the aftermath of death. Audrey, played by Berry, is struggling with the sudden death of her husband, Brian (David Duchovny). She feels compelled to reach out to his longtime friend -- a man she's never liked -- Jerry, played by Benicio Del Toro.
This sets up an incongruous situation. Jerry, a drug addict who looks like an unmade bed (and only Del Toro can achieve this level of unmade-bedness), moves into the family garage in Audrey's upscale neighborhood.
Despite his scruffy appearance and multiple problems, he gets along well with Audrey's two kids, as well as a henpecked neighbor (John Carroll Lynch) who seems to think Jerry is a kind of bohemian hero.
Through the first half of the movie, Brian's presence is felt in a series of flashbacks. Bier treats these sequences with real understanding as she explores the nature of Brian's loyalty and Jerry's neediness … neither of which Audrey understands.
Bier has an intimate touch that obviously creates a comfortable zone for actors. Del Toro's shaggy performance is the real attraction, and Duchovny does his best film work. Alison Lohman is sharp in a somewhat extraneous role as Jerry's AA buddy.
Berry is, as always, willing to put herself through agony, and Bier manages to get a more nuanced turn from her than the pulp stuff Berry delivers in movies like "Perfect Stranger" or "Gothika."
Eventually "Things We Lost" falls too neatly into the Hollywood "recovery" movie (someday somebody should count the number of films that include Alcoholics Anonymous as a crucial plot device). But Bier's talent for finding the emotional temperature of a house is undeniable.
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• Movies"Things We Lost in the Fire" (3 stars)
Emotional: In the aftermath of death, a widow (Halle Berry) grieves by reaching out to her husband's longtime friend (Benicio Del Toro), a man she's never liked. Director Susanne Bier knows how to chart the emotional temperature inside a home, and the performances (including David Duchovny's best movie work) are fine.
Rated: R rating is for language, subject matter
Now showing: Alderwood Mall, Everett, Meridian, Metro, Woodinville, Cascade
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