So I was saying today that I was going to find a film that
is easy to watch and won’t make me cry, something like Jurassic Park, y’know?
And then I decided no, I’ll watch a film about a couple who lose their child because apparently I’ve decided to declare war on my tear ducts. Sobs
a-plenty, my oh my.
Becca (Nicole Kidman) and Howie (Aaron Eckhart) are trying
to pick up the pieces of their lives after the death of their son, Danny, in a
car accident 8 months prior. The reminders of Danny around the house have
different effects on both of them; Becca seems to dislike all of them and wants
to get rid of them, while Howie likes feeling that he is still close by. Their
conflicting ways of dealing with things causes a lot of tension but eventually
they’re honest about what they want to happen and you can see they’re going to
go from there.
The boy who hit Danny seems to be coping remarkably well.
Becca accidentally sees him on a school bus and follows him for a while until
eventually talking to him. He’s very mature about the meetings he has with
her, probably understanding she needs them more than he does. He is quite
creative and has made his own comic book about parallel universes. I love the idea that parallel universes could exist but I think it’s more a hope than a true belief. Imagine that regret you have. I'll take a stab in the dark and assume it's because you didn't do something that you really wanted to do. In a parallel universe, you did it and your life has splintered off from the aftermath. It might've gone badly or it might've gone really great but at least you did it. It’s
a shame we can’t look in on our parallel selves sometimes and see how they’re getting
on and how different they are to us. We could see what the result was to something we agonised over doing but then never had the courage to do. To echo Becca's words, “Somewhere out there I’m having a good
time.”
I like the way the film was done with no overly dramatic scenes;
it’s more about how their loss affects their lives in little ways, forcing them
to face up to who they are now and what it means for them.
7/10
