Things We Lost in the Fire

source: Things We Lost in the Fire

Few films released last year have the quiet sensitivity in writing (Allan Loeb), direction (Susanne Bier), cinematography (Tom Stern), and acting (Berry, Del Toro, Duchovny) as this gem of a movie. Taking on a subject of grief after a sudden traumatic death and the way it affects family and friends would seem like a tedious subject for a two hour film, but THINGS WE LOST IN THE FIRE proves again that care and devotion in telling a difficult story with restraint and tenderness is far more compelling that many of the 'big' movies that fill the theaters with more superficial topics. Brian Burke (David Duchovny) is a generously warm man to his beautiful wife Audrey (Halle Berry), their son Dory (Micah Berry), and daughter Harper (Alexis Llewellyn) as well as to his longtime, childhood friend Jerry Sunborne (Benecio Del Toro) who is constantly struggling with an addiction to heroin. Brian is suddenly dead as the film opens and the friends are gathered at the Burke home for the funeral. Audrey is devastated by the abrupt loss and quietly bears her shock in order to be present for her children. During the reception Audrey suddenly remembers she has not informed Brian's best friend Jerry of his death and sends her brother to fetch him for the services. We meet the wasted Jerry, the shambles of his heroin-addicted life obvious in his tiny apartment, and yet when Jerry hears the news of Brian's death, he is profoundly shocked: Brian is the only friend he has. Jerry makes himself presentable and attends the funeral and despite the fact that Audrey had always considered Jerry a 'weight' on Brian, the two offer each other a zone of connection that cannot be filled by any other. Slowly Jerry becomes part of the Burke household and his role in offering love to the children and solace and protection to Audry results in changes in Jerry's life that provides one bit of evidence of the redemption that can occur from shared grieving. 'Things', such as those items lost in a fire at the Burke's in the past, are simply 'things': interpersonal connection, hope, and the 'light from within' are what truly matter. Berry and Del Toro give finely nuanced performances in these difficult roles, further establishing their credentials as being two of our finest actors in film. But the entire cast of this film is pitch-perfect and under the direction of Bier communicates powerfully with the viewer. The extraordinary camera work concentrates on extreme closeup views of eyes, hands, lips and tears and allows the viewer an intimate relationship with these characters. Johan Söderqvist provides a subtle musical score that underlines the story without calling attention to itself. For this viewer this is hands down one of the finest films of 2007. Highly recommended. Grady Harp

Accurate depiction of drug addiction and recovery. I highly recommend this movie. Del Toro is a force on-screen. Omar Berry is a very understated actor whom i hope to see more of in the future. I've never liked Duchovny, but I think he was perfectly cast in the role of Halle's husband. My only negative is the over use of very close zooms on the eyes and other features of the actors. It was good, but overused. Considering the surprising amount of humor in the movie, I'd love to see Benicio del Toro in a comedic role. As much as I love to see Halle Berry naked, I'm glad she was not * in this movie. It would have been gratuitous and would have detracted from the quality acting.

This drama about loss and addiction hasn't a shred of irony or a sense of surprise, it doesn't even contain much of a connecting essence between its two parts. Halle Berry loses her husband in a freak occurrence, later turns to his boyhood pal--a heroin-addict struggling with recovery--to help fill the void of loneliness...but kicks him back out when he gets too close to her and her two kids. Screenwriter Allan Loeb and director Susanne Bier treat drug-withdrawal in shorthand, as if it were a 24-hour virus, while Bier keeps her camera fixated on photogenic Berry's elfin face and wet, tremulous eyes. This is a glossy, tony, yet indecisive piece of work about nearly-ruined lives, set in too-clean Seattle surroundings and featuring chummy, good-hearted people (we don't learn what happens to a murderer who figures in the story--that's too unattractive an angle for these filmmakers to take on). Loeb and Bier are alternately naïve and unfocused, committed only to the most basic of movie clichés (such as a room the widow won't go into, or the bonding under the basketball hoop). The acting by Berry and Benicio Del Toro remains fairly strong despite the paint-by-numbers set-up, while the romantic undercurrent swirling about (yet kept at a safe distance) is enough to move some viewers. It's a peculiar film, however: one-part soap opera and another part compassionate character study. But, since the characters don't really emerge as living, breathing people, the results are often illogical and shallow. ** from ****

When I read the title of this film I honestly said aloud, "Um, alright then?". It kind of made me laugh and I did not really take it seriously, but I of course know you should not judge a film primarily on the title. It is not even that funny of a title, I just found it humorous for some reason. Anyway, pretty soon I heard so many wonderful things about it and I decided I might as well give it a try, because it at least sounded like it would be entertaining if anything else, and it had Halle Berry, who I always enjoy watching, regardless of the film. I put it in to watch it and immediately my eyes were glued to the television screen. I thought all the actors and actresses gave extremely powerful performances and the story line was very intriguing and strong where I did not think it would be. This was a very good movie and Halle Berry took on a character that, I at least, had never seen her play before which blew my mind. I liked Del Toro very much in his role, as well. I would go as far as to say that this movie was flawless in it's acting and performance skills, because there was nothing at all that was poor about it, but even though I say it is a great movie, it just didn't really excite me, personally. I mean, it was actually kind of a boring movie to watch at some points, but it is still very enjoyable for the performances, like I said. It surprised me how well of a movie it was, and I say if you have not seen it and are not thinking about giving it a chance, you are missing out on something special.

Del Toro fans will love this film. He is true to form and again delivers an amazing performance as a recovering heroin addict touched by the family of his best and only friend. With a running time of over 2 hours, I did find myself wondering if this film really needed to be that drawn out, but extreme close-ups and lamenting of a lost one is no quick and dirty Hollywood stunt fest. 'Things we lost in the Fire' does a great job if you don't mind melancholy, and heart-string tugging. Some of the kids lines I found to be forced and cliché but their cute faces will (almost) make you forget about their bad acting almost right away. I also hoped for more screen time for Alison Lohman. Her talent is always the bright star in any movie she's in. Halle Berry did well but I am still waiting for her to top her performance in 'Introducing Dorothy Dandridge'. That all said, bring some tissues, this one's for the girlfriend.

Disappointing...I've seen some of the Danish director's films. To go from the Dogma Creed to this just goes to show the pressure to toe the Hollywood line. Del Toro is the only interesting face in the whole show- always watchable. His battle with addictions is believable and gripping. The rest? Halle Berry has a few believable moments, Duchovny is bland as ever; the whole thing "family" thing is so clichéd. Ironically Halle's character's inability to move on with life reminded my of a similar local story (in West Vancouver where the film may well have been shot) with the widow of a man killed by a young man at a house party actually befriending the man who killed her husband. As a way of dealing with her loss. I found the music especially hackneyed - the use of some kind of Middle-Eastern clarinet to signify melancholy especially annoying. Pass unless you have to see Del Toro.

It shows how films are a matter of personal taste so many people have liked it judging from their comments but I found it it to be hopelessly boring and frustrating, in fact one of the dullest films of 2007. There was no plot, no suspense, no excitement, nothing really unexpected happening, none of the characters had real depth. And as for exploring personal interactions again the script was as if written by a twelve year old child there was nothing of real substance in it and everything about it felt artificial and pretentious, duh. So for those that don't like such shallow, pointlessly wondering films don't bother wasting time or money on it.

Sometimes you have to view movies one day at a time. As a film buff, I have to take the good with the bad. Danish director Susanne Bier's first American venture, "Things We Lost in the Fire" is one of those surprisingly good human dramas that often gets lost in the shuffle and doesn't receive the credit it deserves. When Audrey (Halle Berry) loses her husband (David Duchovny) in a tragic Good Samaritan act gone bad, she deals with her grief in an unexpected way by inviting his drug-addicted best friend Jerry (Benicio Del Toro) to come live with her and her two young children while he "gets on his feet." Featuring a music score designed to remind people of "21 Grams" (which also starred Del Toro and played with many of the same themes) and interesting cinematography full of extreme close-ups and small visual details designed to evoke intimacy and realism, "Things We Lost in the Fire" delicately mirrors Audrey's grief process against Jerry's rocky recovery. The film is far from perfect as it sometimes deals with subjects (especially the scenes where Jerry is withdrawing from heroin) in a clichéd manner. Berry also struggles as she seems to underact in some of the more poignant scenes as a way to balance her overacting in some of the more theatrical scenes. However, her performance as an organic whole is very strong, and her character and her family feel and look "real." The things they say and the way they deal with their situations are raw and heartfelt without ever being sappy or sensationalistic. The kids are naturalistic, and they actually look like they could be the children of Berry and Duchovny. Del Toro is once again a revelation, and his performance speaks volumes with his mannerisms and facial expressions as he attempts to reconcile his sad past with a hopeful future. Sadly, his tour de force was overlooked by every end of the year awards in 2007. The bread and butter, however, is in the small details. "Things We Lost in the Fire" uses visual motifs, side stories, character foils, mirroring, and nuanced repetition in dialog as ways to develop grander themes. This is the stuff of great novels, and rarely do we find it attempted in film. What could have easily been dismissed as a melodramatic weeper turns out instead to be something quite good. The overlapping closing scenes where Berry speaks not a word while coming in from the rain, and Del Toro delivers a rehab monologue that gives quite possibly the most honest insight into addiction and recovery ever captured on screen, is a hauntingly hopeful mosaic of small moments. Yes, there were some moments of formulaic Hollywood gobbily-gook and some moments of strained drama, but these closing moments are real. They are good, and we as human beings (as film goers) have to learn to accept the good.

The Good: The writing and acting are top notch. The Bad: The hand held camera pans and scans and really, REALLY, close, close-ups are a little dis-concerting. But Benicio DelToro is right on with his performance! Best acting I've seen in a while. Saw the movie at a preview in Cleveland. The Theatre was packed, and the reaction from most people was that it was too heavy, too depressing. But it is exactly that quality that makes it ring true. The interplay between the neighbor that hates his wife and Benicio's character are perfect. A smaller role is played by Alison Lohman ( Matchstick Men ) was also very well acted. A steadier camera without the wild pans and I would give it a 9 or 10.