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Review

Recriminations, unspoken resentments and the festering rage that emerge in the face of tragedy may not be any one family's exclusive domain. But the Fowlers of Maine -- the reserved, devastated married couple who inhabit the numbing emotional terrain of the blistering, brilliant drama In the Bedroom -- can certainly try to lay claim when confronted with unimaginable grief. In performances as raw as they are touching, Wilkinson and Spacek are extraordinary as Matt and Ruth, a doctor and schoolteacer, respectively, whose lives come to a turning point when tragedy strikes. At the heart of the tale, based on Andre Dubus' short story "Killings," is how this once close-knit family handles and reacts to their loss, where guilt and denial are layered like the characters' clothes guarding against a New England winter. Just under the surface, however, is a wrenching story of loss, silence and vengeance, and what makes In the Bedroom so powerful is that it's not always about what it appears to be about, and doesn’t always head in the direction it appears to be heading. Field, an actor making his directorial debut, captures the cadence of New England life with pacing both lyrical and measured, which is in stark contrast to the tragic, feverish events that transpire. It's a most impressive first film. In support, Tomei is outstanding as a divorced mother attempting to make sense of senselessness.