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In The Bedroom


In The BedroomMovie A- | Video  A- | Audio B+ | Extras D

Sissy Spacek, Tom Wilkinson, Nick Stahl, and Marissa Tomei
director Todd Field | Miramax Home Entertainment
2001 | Drama - Suspense | R | 130 minutes
Region 1 | DVD-9
anamorphic widescreen 2.35:1 aspect ratio | Dolby Digital 5.1

Summary: In The Bedroom is a powerful drama about Frank Fowler, a young man  who just graduated from high school and is bound to depart to college with an architecture major in the fall.  But during the summer months, he falls for Natalie (Marisa Tomei), an older woman  who has recently separated from her husband.  With two small boys under her care, Natalie somehow seems to find the time to build a relationship with this young man.  The young man's parents, the overbearing perfectionist Mrs. Ruth Fowler (Sissy Spacek) and the understanding and compassionate Dr. Matt Fowler (Tom Wilkinson), seem to tolerate this odd romantic relationship, each in the their unique ways.

When Natalie's jealous former husband returns and wants to claim back his wife and boys, things start to get complicated and violent.  Shockingly, the young man is "accidentally" killed by the jealous husband in a violent confrontation.  The Fowlers quietly grieve the tragic and untimely death of their son.  But when they find out that their son's murderer may get off with a just a 5-year manslaughter prison sentence, Dr. and Mrs. Fowler find a "better" way to deal with the situation.

The characters are wonderfully developed in this dramatic film.  The acting performances were solid across the entire cast.  Sissy Spacek and Tom Wilkinson, in particular, give very powerful performances as parents who lost their only son, just days before he would go off to college and make good on his very promising future.  I found myself deeply moved by the emotional roller coaster depicted by this drama.  It's a compelling screenplay that is brought to life by a very talented cast.  I can easily see why In The Bedroom secured five Academy Award nominations, for Best Picture, Best Actress, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress, and Best Screenplay.  If you enjoy strong dramas with gripping performances, don't miss this riveting film.

Special Features: There are virtually no bonus features in this DVD, just sneak peeks of Baran, Behind The Sun, Italian For Beginners, Gangs of New York, and Full Frontal

DVD released on 8/13/2002 | Reviewed 9/30/2002

List $29.99 | online $22.44 | order from Amazon.com, Buy.com

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Additional Notes: Unless we specify otherwise, the video and audio quality are very good when their grades are "A-" or better.  Only the highest number of channels of surround sound format is listed (e.g., Dolby Digital 5.1).  If there are both Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1 soundtracks, then both are listed.  All DVD-Video discs are backwards compatible with stereo-only playback systems.

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Associated equipment used in evaluation: Sony DVP-S7700 reference DVD player, Sony KP-61V45 61" rear projection TV (4:3 screen aspect ratio), Sony ES STR-V444ES A/V receiver, four B&W CDM 9NTs as left/right main speakers and left/right surrounds, B&W CDM CNT center channel speaker, Monster Cable M-series S-Video cable MSV-500, Monster Cable Interlink LightSpeed 100 (Toslink) optical cable, Monster Cable Interlink 400 MKII interconnects, Monster Cable Original speaker cables in bi-wire configuration with Monster Cable twist-on gold-plated banana plug connectors, Lovan Sovereign T HiFi audio rack, and Sony MDR-V600 studio monitor headphones.  Our home theater equipment was calibrated with the Video Essentials DVD.

Be sure to check out our Top 10 DVDs of the year 2001 and our list of this year's Oscar winners on DVD.

 

 

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Site updated 8.26.2008


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