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Harvey Karten's Reviews

Review: Things We Lost in the Fire

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#1 of 1 Posted 10/19/07 2:44 PM

From harveykarten Posts 744 Last Nov-19
To All [Msg # 22702.1 ]

THINGS WE LOST IN THE FIRE

Reviewed for CompuServe by Harvey S. Karten
Paramount Pictures
Grade: B-
Directed by: Susanne Bier
Written By: Alan Loeb
Cast: Halle Berry, Benicio Del Toro, David Duchovny, Alexis Llewellyn, Micah Berry, John Carroll Lynch,
Alison Lohman, Omar Benson Miller
Screened at: AMC 34th St., NYC, 10/19/07
Opens: October 19, 2007

Among the factors that raise this slow-paced drama from the usual soap-opera ingredients–illness, murder, kids who need a father–is the stunning performance of Benicio Del Toro as Jerry Sunborne, an acting job that has already started Oscar buzz and, even more important, a possible nomination from New York Film Critics Online. He doesn’t have much more than scripter Alan Loeb’s functional dialogue to work with, but his expressions run the gamut from projecting self-deprecating humor, physical and psychological pain, and a freely-expressed devotion to two children whose father, Brian Burke (David Duchovny), had recently been murdered. With Halle Berry to anchor the production as Audrey, the suffering widow of a man who is portrayed as perfect–a marvelous breadwinner, a tender husband, a loving father–“Things We Lost in the Fire” transcends its sluggish pacing and Tom Stern’s zig-zagging, hand-held camera to go against the recent avalanche of war movies and violent gangsterism.

Told in her first U.S. production by Danish director Susanne Bier (“Once in a Lifetime,” “Brothers”) with discreet use of flashbacks to build sympathy for the grieving Audrey, the film operates per helmer’s background as an attempt to cover a Hollywood movie with a European patina. Bier’s principal subject, however, is the relationship between Jerry, who was not only the victim’s best friend but is also a recovering heroin addict; and Audrey, whose sobriety posits her as a resident of a different, more conventional world.

The story, which takes place in Seattle, contrasts Audrey’s lush digs cum swimming pool with the flophouse that serves as Jerry’s residence. It was on a visit to Jerry that Brian, heroically intervening in the beating of a woman by her husband, is shot dead. Jerry is in bad enough shape to warrant a family friend, Neal (Omar Benson Miller), to doubt whether the man has clothing suitable to wear to the funeral.

What’s brings the film down from a European-style arthouse project toward a soapy level is the sentimental attachment of Audrey’s two kids, Harper (Alexis Llewellyn) and Dony (Micah Berry) to Jerry, the latter becoming an almost instant father figure but one whose social class and tendency to relapse into addiction are high barriers to a more permanent status with Audrey.

While Halle Berry does a proficient job of showing grief without a respite of humor, Benicio Del Toro becomes the one to watch as his character shifts from the Narcotics Anonymous group where young Kelly (Alison Lohman) flirts with the man, to Audrey’s garage, which she had converted into a habitable room after a fire.

Rated R. 117 minutes © 2007 by Harvey Karten Member: NY Film Critics Online

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Harvey Karten's Reviews

Review: Things We Lost in the Fire

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