Things We Lost in the Fire - DVD
Tue 09 September 2008
Jacqueline Smith, Master of Communication
Things We Lost in the Fire is a film that gives a raw insight into how people stumble through grief.
It portrays the different ways people express the pain of losing someone they love. Grief is so subjective, not everyone succumbs to emotion or falls apart. Some try to bottle it up and cope the best they can, while others try to honour the person they lost by attempting to live the best life they can.
Audrey’s (Halle Berry) husband Brian (David Duchovny) has been killed. He was shot when he intervened in a domestic dispute. In her grief, Audrey reaches out to the most unlikely person, Brian’s childhood friend Jerry (Benicio Del Toro) who is a heroin addict. Jerry realises he wants more from life after his only friend in the world dies. So when Audrey asks him to move in to their garage apartment he agrees. And even though he stumbles once, he tries to be the rock they need.
The performances are great...brilliant...authentic. Halle Berry depicts grief ‘held in’ wonderfully, but the star is Benicio Del Toro. He is fascinating on screen - the compelling leading man, but also the consummate character actor. It’s hard to take your eyes off him.
If there is any criticism to be levelled at this film it is in the editorial choices in the first 30 minutes. The film randomly flashes back and forth showing Brian’s life and death. The non-sequential narrative structure may be considered artistic or a way to differentiate the film from mainstream Hollywood, but it made the beginning of the film feel disjointed, and it disrupted the flow of sympathy and foreboding. Once the film moved into the main body it was captivating.
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