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Review: Todd Field’s ‘In The Bedroom’ Perfectly Captures Grief
The 2001 drama is powerful, stylish and very well told
Todd Field is a director who intrigues me. Despite the fact that he has released only three feature length films throughout his over twenty year career, Field has amassed a pretty large following because all three of his films have seriously impressive staying power — they’re strong, they’re stylish, they’re memorable. All three of Field’s films are stylistically distinctive, incredibly dramatic and fuelled by excellent performances. His most recognised film, perhaps primarily because of its recency, would be 2022’s Tar (featuring one of Cate Blanchett’s strongest performances!), but the quality of Field’s two earlier films — In The Bedroom and Little Children — certainly shouldn’t be downplayed. Both are writerly and theatrical works grounded by very realistic, empathetic stories and phenomenal acting.
In the Bedroom is best described minimally, its plot best experienced with little knowledge of what is to come. It is a story centred around four main characters — an older couple consisting of Matt and Ruth (Tom Wilkinson and Sissy Spacek respectively), their son Frank (Nick Stahl) and his girlfriend Natalie (Marisa Tomei) — when the lives of these four characters are struck by a horrendous tragedy. But, as with any of…
