Today’s Prayer Focus

Rabbit Hole

MPA Rating: PG-13-Rating (MPA) for mature thematic material, some drug use and language.
Moral Rating: not reviewed
Moviemaking Quality:
Primary Audience: Adults
Genre: Drama
Length: 1 hr. 31 min.
Year of Release: 2010
USA Release: November 3, 2010 (festival)
December 17, 2010 (select—5 theaters)
December 25, 2010 (wider)
January 14, 2011 (wide)
DVD: April 19, 2011
Copyright, Lionsgateclick photos to ENLARGE Copyright, Lionsgate Copyright, Lionsgate Copyright, Lionsgate
Relevant Issues
Copyright, Lionsgate

death

Belief in angels

Angels in the Bible

What else does the Bible teach about angels? Answer

Belief in God

God

How can we know there’s a God? Answer

What if the cosmos is all that there is? Answer

Suffering

Why does God allow innocent people to suffer? Answer

What about the issue of suffering? Doesn’t this prove that there is no God and that we are on our own? Answer

Does God feel our pain? Answer

ORIGIN OF BAD—How did bad things come about? Answer

Did God make the world the way it is now? What kind of world would you create? Answer

Depression and anxiety

DEPRESSION—Are there biblical examples of depression and how to deal with it? Answer

What should a Christian do if overwhelmed with depression? Answer

ANXIETY, worry and fear—What does the Bible say? Answer

Featuring Nicole Kidman (Becca Corbett), Aaron Eckhart (Howie Corbett), Sandra Oh (Gaby), Dianne Wiest (Nat), Jon Tenney (Rick), Giancarlo Esposito (Auggie), Miles Teller (Jason), See all »
Director John Cameron Mitchell
Producer Olympus Pictures, Blossom Films, Odd Lot Entertainment, Caroline Jaczko, Nicole Kidman, See all »
Distributor
Distributor: Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. Trademark logo.
Lionsgate (Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.)

“The only way out is through.”

Here’s what the distributor says about their film: “RABBIT HOLE is a vivid, hopeful, honest and unexpectedly witty portrait of a family searching for what remains possible in the most impossible of all situations.

Becca and Howie Corbett (Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart) are returning to their everyday existence in the wake of a shocking, sudden loss. Just eight months ago, they were a happy suburban family with everything they wanted. Now, they are caught in a maze of memory, longing, guilt, recrimination, sarcasm and tightly controlled rage from which they cannot escape. While Becca finds pain in the familiar, Howie finds comfort.

The shifts come in abrupt, unforeseen moments. Becca hesitantly opens up to her opinionated, loving mother (DIANNE WIEST) and secretly reaches out to the teenager involved in the accident that changed everything (MILES TELLER); while Howie lashes out and imagines solace with another woman (SANDRA OH). Yet, as off track as they are, the couple keeps trying to find their way back to a life that still holds the potential for beauty, laughter and happiness. The resulting journey is an intimate glimpse into two people learning to re-engage with each other and a world that has been tilted off its axis.

RABBIT HOLE is directed by John Cameron Mitchell (‘Hedwig and the Angry Inch’) from a script by acclaimed playwright David Lindsay-Abaire, adapted from his Pulitzer Prize-winning play. The cast, led by Academy Award® winner Nicole Kidman (‘The Hours,’ Actress in a Leading Role, 2002) and Golden Globe® nominee Aaron Eckhart, includes two-time Oscar® winner Dianne Wiest (‘Hannah and Her Sisters,’ Actress in a Supporting Role, 1986; ‘Bullets Over Broadway,’ Actress in a Supporting Role, 1994), Tammy Blanchard, Miles Teller, Giancarlo Esposito, Jon Tenney and Sandra Oh.”

BLAME GOD? Did God make the world the way it is now? What kind of world would you create? Answer

Volunteer reviewer needed for this movie

See list of Relevant Issues—questions-and-answers.


Viewer CommentsSend your comments
Positive
Positive—I really liked this movie. It was sad, of course, but not as depressing as it could have been. I thought it was great that the couple stuck together, instead of getting divorced, it was a good shout-out for marriage. I would definitely recommend it to someone who enjoys watching well-acted dramas.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Better than Average / Moviemaking quality: 5
Kadie Jo, age 19 (USA)
Positive—“Rabbit Hole” was a spectacular film that gave a glimpse of raw emotions during what would be any parent’s worst nightmare. Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart were excellent through their roller coaster ride, as they try to rebuild their lives together. From an offensive view, there are some language concerns and some drug references and showing of the use of pot. However, in the current Hollywood climate, I would find this to be of little concern for the mature adult. The seemingly flawless transition from making me laugh one minute and tearing up the next made this an enjoyable experience.

This movie is not for the holier than thou crowd, who may find it easy to dismiss a deeply hurting Kidman’s reaction towards God and his will, but unless you have experienced such a loss, it’s better to just sit back and enjoy the movie for what it is… just a movie.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Better than Average / Moviemaking quality: 4½
Matthew Soo, age 33 (USA)
Positive—After watching “Rabbit Hole,” I was reminded of something that Lee Stroebel wrote in one of his books, when dealing with his wife who was experiencing some terrible grief at the time, when she said “If someone thinks he can wrap everything up in a neat little package and put a fancy theological bow on it… go somewhere else.” This would help explain the grief and pain that the movie main leads, Becca (Nicole Kidman) and Howie (Aaron Eckhart) feel towards religion, especially Becca.

The movie does have some objectionable content including swearing and drug use, but it also has some admirable traits as well, especially considering adultery and commitment. I feel that many in the Christian community who are quick to condemn Becca should take a second look at not just the movie, but themselves. This is a woman we should be feeling empathy for, not scorn. How do we ever expect to win over the “Becca’s” of the world with the type of negativity that I have seen here from other reviewers?

In ending, I would recommend this movie. It is a tough watch even at PG-13 with a tough subject matter. The production is very good and the acting of both Kidman and Eckhart feels “authentic,” and the display of emotions from humorous to broken-hearted is felt in what I consider one of the best movies I have seen in 2011.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Average / Moviemaking quality: 4
Rebecca, age 26 (USA)
Positive—One of the things that impressed me most about “Rabbit Hole” was Aaron Eckhart’s performance as the husband. Howie’s character in the story was emotionally bereft at the loss of his son and the disintegration of his marriage. So many men, both in real life and in the movies, look for any excuse to stray and have no interest whatsoever in the welfare of their children. “Rabbit Hole” featured a decent, compassionate man who is a fine role model.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Good / Moviemaking quality: 5
Morris, age 47 (USA)
Negative
Negative—For someone with no faith in a God of love, it is impossible to live with that kind of loss. And, yet, God gets the blame nonetheless; it is quite a paradox. That´s what the main character does in this film. I would have liked to see some hope in the midst of all the pain, but none was offered. A sad story, without a glimpse of hope.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Extremely Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 1
Paolo Geminiani, age 54 (Austria)
Negative—Don’t waste your time or money on this film. It accurately portrays the effects of grief on secular, atheistic, intolerant women, until about the last ten minutes, when the film turned around and tried to paint a hopeful picture of the future. It has the cliche of the unmarried sister pregnant in an interracial relationship. It portrays “getting high” in a positive light. Kidman provides a brilliant performance. She is Australian and her portrayal is a perfect rendition of passive aggressive Australian female behavior, when there is no belief in God and serious intolerance of belief. It is a sort of crazy stoicism with unjustified incompletely suppressed anger directed at those close to her and an embrace of those who caused her grief. She plays the game of “squirms” with everyone, except the person at fault. She wants to make you squirm.

Wiest’s performance is inspirational. But there is nothing in this film. There are attacks on God. The ending is malarkey, ***SPOILER ALERT*** in real life a marriage as frail as this would have broken up in the husband’s adultery with ruthless retribution by the unChristian wife demanding attention with wails of “poor little me” ***END OF SPOILER*** and, frankly, if it had, I would recommend this film, as a cautionary tale, but it is a nothing. You would be better off watching a soap opera. It is not even a competent “tear jerker”. I believe it is extremely offensive because it deals with hard issues and then rejects either a secularly accurate portrayal or redemption through faith to show salvation in drugs and barbecues. It is ludicrous. Militant atheism has secular consequences.
My Ratings: Moral rating: Extremely Offensive / Moviemaking quality: 2
Blue, age 52 (Australia)
Movie Critics
…[3½/4]… “Rabbit Hole” is entertaining and surprisingly amusing, under the circumstances. … I knew what the movie would be about, but I was impressed by how it was about it.
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
…a refreshingly positive-minded take on cinema’s ultimate downer: overcoming the death of a child. … expert, understated performances…
Peter Debruge, Variety
…a raw and complicated emotional experience… “Rabbit Hole” could easily have been maudlin, grim or exploitative, and it is none of those things. It is sensitive, considerate, and, in the end, not entirely persuasive. …
A.O. Scott, The New York Times
…[4/4] intensely moving… powerful, first-rate drama does something few films these days manage. It made me think. …
Chris Knight, National Post
…[3½/4] The film sets us up to judge and then upends those judgments. It’s a long journey back, the movie suggests, and any means you use to get out of that hole is allowed. That message, this script and these actors make “Rabbit Hole” one of the best films of 2010. …
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel
…A beautifully acted study of a married couple emerging from the paralysis of grief… “Rabbit Hole” is absorbing and hugely compelling, a thoughtful portrayal of the myriad ways in which we learn to deal with the unthinkable. You just have to learn to bear the weight.
Rene Rodriguez, The Miami Herald
…“Rabbit Hole” is a story that plunges through the inky blackness of grief … and swims to the surface again. It is, in the end, a hopeful story, one that insists that even after the most terrible of tragedies life can level out. …
Paul Asay, Plugged In
…[2/5] The sheer excruciating, stultifying good taste of this movie is almost unbearable… The film is well-intentioned, but specious and inauthentic. …
Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian (UK)