Recently I saw Rabbit Hole, a drama that centers on a married couple that includes Becca (Played by Nicole Kidman),and Howie (Played by Aaron Eckhart),who are going through a tough time. It's been eight months since their child, Danny, was unexpectedly killed after he was hit by a car. They also go through tough times with Becca's family, a young boy she begins having conversations with, and a veteran of their support group (Played by Sandra Oh).

The film is not always highly ambitious, but it's a slow burning, devastating experience. The film is written by David Lindsay-Abbaire, and based on his stage play. He writes the film with a realistic touch, and words it oh so finely. Themes of emotional hardships, and desire to block out the past are very much so explored within the film. Still, as thoughtful as the writing and direction may be, the film can't help but feel stagy at points, and a tad distracted.

Regardless, I recommend seeing it, if only to behold the performances of Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart. Their performances are brimming with heart, and they infuse genuine heartbreak, anger, and joy (What little there is) into their performances. They give us gripping and memorable portrayals of sorrow and regret.

Sure, I'm not too fond of a few things, but I still liked Rabbit Hole. I give it *** out of ****

A little Oscar baity - you just know Nicole Kidman purchased the rights to the play because she knew it would get her an Oscar nomination - but it is undeniably moving. Kidman and Aaron Eckhart play two grieving parents who lost their son to an auto accident eight months before the film opens. The two deal with their grief in different ways, and it's beginning to tear their relationship apart. Dianne Wiest plays Kidman's less sophisticated mother (she seems to be more from a blue collar background, which Kidman seems to have left behind),who also lost her son, albeit to heroin addiction when he was 30 (Kidman despises when her mother compares the two losses). Tammy Blanchard plays Kidman's younger sister, who tells her near the open of the film that she is pregnant. Sandra Oh plays another grieving parent, with whom Eckhart connects. The last major role belongs to Miles Teller, who plays the teen who hit the couple's son. Kidman surprisingly connects with the boy (at first I thought that he just reminded her of her dead son, which I believe was an intentional mislead). All the actors are excellent. Yeah, Kidman may have bought it because she knew it would get her a nomination, and I would guess nine actresses out of ten could have garnered a nomination from the role (it's just too well written not to attract Academy attention),but that doesn't take too much away from her achievement. Wiest would be an obvious second nomination (most certainly deserved),but the Academy should not overlook Eckhart, who gives his best performance to date. I have said nothing of John Cameron Mitchell, whose previous two films, Hedwig and the Angry Inch and Shortbus, are among my favorite of the previous decade. He doesn't show his hand here at all. Indeed, it's definitely a director-for-hire type of job. But he is very subtle, so there's at least that.

I found out about this movie only when Nicole Kidman received awards nominations for her performance. When I found out that its sad story is about a mother who lost her son, I felt I did not want to watch another one of these somber family dramas. However, today I had a little window of time, and this film was only an hour and a half long, so I finally relented and gave it a chance.

"Rabbit Hole" tells about how a modern young couple, Becca and Howie, was dealing with the death of their very young son, about eight months after the boy got accidentally run over by a car. The drama intensifies as Becca's immature younger sister gets pregnant and healing wounds are disturbed again. What's more, Becca strikes an awkward "friendship" with the teenager who drove the car that killed her son.

Nicole Kidman is getting all the acting notices as Becca. Not meaning to put her down, Nicole was very good, but I felt that this performance was already very familiar. I felt that Aaron Eckhart did even better to essay his role as the bereaved father Howie. I think there is a bigger challenge for a male to connect and project the proper emotion in stories like this, and Eckhart delivers. I do not know how she does it, but Ms. Dianne Wiest never fails to exude warmth in her roles. Here she plays Becca's mom who also lost a son, albeit already 30 year old. She is luminescent in her few scenes, best of which was the one in the bowling alley and another one in the basement.

To its credit, the screenplay was compelling despite the subject matter. The gamut of emotions as could be expected from a situation like this were all there, from grief and anger, to frustration and cynicism. There were some moments of humor in it as well to lighten the mood a bit, especially scenes with Sandra Oh as a woman already eight years in group therapy. Contrary to my initial impressions, it did not feel boring at all. But again, the sad depressing topic may not really make it so popular for the general public.