Rabbit Hole
Directed by: John Cameron Mitchell
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Aaron Eckhart, Dianne Weist, Sandra Oh, Tammy Blanchard
Synopsis: Life for a happy couple (Kidman and Eckhart) is turned upside down after their young son dies in an accident.
Brought to you by: Fox Searchlight Pictures
Expected release date: TBA
Jose: Proving why she's the most constantly adventurous working actress, Nicole Kidman is back with one of her two big back to back projects (if The Danish Girl ever starts shooting of course...) which has her play a character that won Cynthia Nixon a Tony during the play's Broadway run.
Do you think this means Oscar attention for Nic or will it be her own Proof?
Craig: If truth be told, I would've actually liked to have seen Cynthia Nixon do it. I like Kidman (Margot! Birth!) but how much more of an interesting project would it have been had Nixon been given the role in the film. Of course, she's nowhere near as bankable as Kidman so it may never have been a consideration on the part of the film's backers or producers - and of course Kidman is one of the producers - but I'm keen to see Nixon really expose her drama chops on film in a big way. I really hope it's not a Proof for Kidman though - my fingers are crossed that that approach is avoided.
Robert: I don't think awards bait, and I don't thing big emotional weepie. I suppose someone more familiar with the play can fill me on whether the film should hit those marks.
David: My brain seems to have come up with a very limited way of seeing this film: if it starts racking up awards, I fear I'll hate it. It's as if I want it to fail miserably! But my favourite Kidman performances have always been the ones in her more challenging, offbeat movies - Dogville and Birth spring straight to mind, but I found more to appreciate in Fur than most seemed to - and it seems that the Kidman dramatics that I groove to are not the ones the awards bodies start weeping over.
Jason: ...Nicole, being sad. She's so wonderful at sad! Almost as wonderful as she is playing a bitch (Susanne Stone Moretto forever!), but since she seems to prefer the sad I'll take the sad.
Jose: I'm sure Kidman will be splendid but how excited are you about the rest of the cast?
Nathaniel: Even without JCM's strong vision behind the camera I would have been sold by the cast. Dianne Wiest takes over the grandmother role that Tyne Daley won acclaim for on Broadway and we can certainly always use more Wiest on the silver screen. I think she's one of the greatest living actresses and I'm eager to see her attack another meaty role onscreen.David: Having Dianne Wiest in the cast boosts interest even higher - the movies have missed you, Dianne!
Jason: I didn't even know Dianne Wiest was in it! And that there jumps it up a couple of notches all on its own. She's spectacular. And Aaron Eckhart... I like to stare at Aaron Eckhart and his large strong hands. So all's good.
Will Eckhart's hands lend enough support to Kidman's sure to be devastating performance?
Jose: I'm also dying to see what Mitchell does with material that wasn't written by him; Shortbus and Hedwig were two of the most confrontational works of the '00s but they probably were very personal as well.
Robert: The wild card here is Mitchell. The "suburbanites in mourning" genre is one that's in danger of getting old fast, if it already hasn't. I don't know what he'll bring to the material, but I anticipate something unconventional. When I think John Cameron Mitchell I don't think mainstream. Here's hoping it does so while still maintaining that rebellious JCM touch.
Nathaniel: Mitchell should be able to work this visually into something far more expressive than just dour suburban drama. First of all there's the title metaphor and second, I believe the teenage character Jason (Miles Teller) is into drawing or comic books or some such (or am I creating a false memory?) and Mitchell has already promised a complete cinematic rendering so we might see animated flourishes? I'm guessing. He's used them in both of his other film to fine stylistic effect.
Jason: It really is all about JCM for me, working on material he didn't create - I don't have anything against his two previous films, mind you, I love both, but I'm curious to see what he does with something that seems on the surface so different.
Craig: Cameron Mitchell is such a solid talent, he's shown in Hedwig and Shortbus that he can spin from pathos to party in a heartbeat (and often do it in the same scene), but if this is an all-out drama I'd like to think he'll add something a bit more fresh to it to shake up the possible over-familiarity of the genre. From the very few stills I've seen, part of me does groan a little at the apparent heaviness of its heart-wrenching feel, but then I'm immediately perked up by the mere presence of Eckhart. But a still is a still - the movie itself could spark and fly off the handle!
David: I've only seen Shortbus but I'm afraid of his directorial identity being stripped by an awards hungry studio. He was a very interesting choice for Kidman to make, though, and I would trust that her as producer means she's made the choice for artistic reasons.
Craig: Cameron Mitchell is such a solid talent, he's shown in Hedwig and Shortbus that he can spin from pathos to party in a heartbeat (and often do it in the same scene), but if this is an all-out drama I'd like to think he'll add something a bit more fresh to it to shake up the possible over-familiarity of the genre. From the very few stills I've seen, part of me does groan a little at the apparent heaviness of its heart-wrenching feel, but then I'm immediately perked up by the mere presence of Eckhart. But a still is a still - the movie itself could spark and fly off the handle!
David: I've only seen Shortbus but I'm afraid of his directorial identity being stripped by an awards hungry studio. He was a very interesting choice for Kidman to make, though, and I would trust that her as producer means she's made the choice for artistic reasons.
I know hardly anything about the source material, so I'm sure my head is imagining this all wrong, but I'd love a Lynchian vibe off this whole thing - a mess of dark emotions manifesting in weird and memorable imagery. I think it might just be the word "rabbit" though. The Rabbit Hole? Who knows what's down there.
Jose: With JCM's visuals and the polarizing reactions Kidman has been drawing from audiences and critics throughout the decade this at least is sure to be one of the year's most fascinating projects.
How about you readers, will you take the proverbial trip with them or is this something you'd never want to watch? Oh and did anyone who saw the play tell us a bit more about it? Do you think it'll translate well to the screen?
"We Can't Wait: Summer and Beyond"
The "orphan" picks Nathaniel (Burlesque), JA (Love and Other Drugs), Jose (You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger), Craig (What's Wrong With Virginia?), Robert (True Grit) and Dave (Brighton Rock); Team Film Experience Countdown #12 It's Kind of a Funny Story, #11 Sex & the City 2, #10 Scott Pilgrim vs the World, #9 Somewhere, #8 The Kids Are All Right, #7 The Illusionist, #6 Toy Story 3, #5 Inception, #4 Rabbit Hole, #3 Never Let Me Go, #2 Black Swan and #1 The Tree of Life.
