It goes without saying that Nicole Kidman is one of the greatest actors working today. It is hard to think of another performer who has consistently been at the center of film culture for over three decades and who has continued to take chances on risky projects that many of her peers would be too afraid to touch. One issue that many famous stars face is reaching a level of fame in which they are so easily identifiable that it is challenging for them to “disappear” into a role that requires them to portray an ostensibly normal person. However, Kidman gave one of the most riveting performances of her career as a grieving mother in the powerful drama Rabbit Hole. Even though it was a performance that earned her a very well-deserved Academy Award nomination for Best Actress, Rabbit Hole is such an upsetting portrayal of loss and depression that it has been difficult to recommend for those that don’t seek such a devastating experience.
What Is ‘Rabbit Hole’ About?

Written and directed by legendary cult filmmaker John Cameron Mitchell, Rabbit Hole stars Kidman as Rebecca Corbett, whose four-year-old son Danny was killed in a car accident after running into the middle of the street to catch a dog. Enough time has passed that Rebecca is willing to move on and begin selling Danny’s clothes and possessions, but her belligerent husband Howard (Aaron Eckhart) does not agree. While Rebecca believes that they need to move on in order to reach the next stage of their lives, Howard is determined to preserve their memory of Danny to ensure that they do not forget the profound impact that he had on their lives, even if it was relatively brief. The fights between them grow more tense, as Rebecca decides to stop attending therapy because she accuses the other attendees of trying to constantly frame themselves as victims. However, the divisions between her and Howard grow more drastic when they meet again with the teenage boy Jason (Miles Teller), who was driving the car that killed Danny.
Rabbit Hole succeeds in encapsulating the longstanding effects of tragedy because it is essentially a “slice of life” story. Although it may have been easier to draw tears from an audience if the film showed Danny’s death, funeral, and the immediate aftermath, Rabbit Hole explores the ways in which trauma can last far longer than anyone would anticipate and reemerges in the most surprising ways. Regardless of what Rebecca and Howard do with the next stage of their lives, the loss of Danny will forever be something that they think about on a daily basis. Kidman does a great job at showing how challenging it can be to suppress her sense of sadness; even though she is able to ostensibly appear to be doing well when she begins to engage in her community gatherings, even the slightest reminder of Danny’s life has the ability to send her into a downward spiral.
‘Rabbit Hole’ Is an Uncompromising Analysis of Grief

Rabbit Hole is able to examine the effects of tragedy on a marriage, as both Howard and Rebecca choose to recede into their own feelings of misery rather than reaching out to one another. Rebecca knows that Howard’s attempts to “work on” his grief through therapy are well-intentioned, but that remaining in an environment where he is constantly reminded of his loss will ultimately not be helpful. Despite the fact that they have trouble being intimate together, Eckhart and Kidman do a great job at reminding viewers that at the end of the day, Howard and Rebecca still deeply love each other.
Rabbit Hole offers a complex examination of forgiveness, as it shows how finding a culprit to pin one’s tragedy on is ultimately not going to resolve their sense of grief. After spending time with Jason, Rebecca comes to recognize that he is just as traumatized about the incident as they are and will bear the guilt of Howard’s misplaced anger towards him for the rest of his life. Kidman’s ability to show Rebecca’s compassion for Jason allows the film to reach its most powerful moments. Rabbit Hole is ultimately a film about forgiveness, and Kidman shows that it is only possible to forgive others after one has already forgiven themselves.
Rabbit Hole is streaming on Tubi in the U.S.

Rabbit Hole

Release Date

December 16, 2010

Runtime

91 minutes

Director

John Cameron Mitchell

Writers

David Lindsay-Abaire

Producers

Bill Lischak, Gigi Pritzker, Leslie Urdang, Nicole Kidman, Per Saari, Linda McDonough, Daniel Revers, Dean Vanech

Watch on Tubi

It goes without saying that Nicole Kidman is one of the greatest actors working today. It is hard to think of another performer who has consistently been at the center of film culture for over three decades and who has continued to take chances on risky projects that many of her peers would be too afraid to touch. One issue that many famous stars face is reaching a level of fame in which they are so easily identifiable that it is challenging for them to “disappear” into a role that requires them to portray an ostensibly normal person. However, Kidman gave one of the most riveting performances of her career as a grieving mother in the powerful drama Rabbit Hole. Even though it was a performance that earned her a very well-deserved Academy Award nomination for Best Actress, Rabbit Hole is such an upsetting portrayal of loss and depression that it has been difficult to recommend for those that don’t seek such a devastating experience.
What Is ‘Rabbit Hole’ About?

Written and directed by legendary cult filmmaker John Cameron Mitchell, Rabbit Hole stars Kidman as Rebecca Corbett, whose four-year-old son Danny was killed in a car accident after running into the middle of the street to catch a dog. Enough time has passed that Rebecca is willing to move on and begin selling Danny’s clothes and possessions, but her belligerent husband Howard (Aaron Eckhart) does not agree. While Rebecca believes that they need to move on in order to reach the next stage of their lives, Howard is determined to preserve their memory of Danny to ensure that they do not forget the profound impact that he had on their lives, even if it was relatively brief. The fights between them grow more tense, as Rebecca decides to stop attending therapy because she accuses the other attendees of trying to constantly frame themselves as victims. However, the divisions between her and Howard grow more drastic when they meet again with the teenage boy Jason (Miles Teller), who was driving the car that killed Danny.
Rabbit Hole succeeds in encapsulating the longstanding effects of tragedy because it is essentially a “slice of life” story. Although it may have been easier to draw tears from an audience if the film showed Danny’s death, funeral, and the immediate aftermath, Rabbit Hole explores the ways in which trauma can last far longer than anyone would anticipate and reemerges in the most surprising ways. Regardless of what Rebecca and Howard do with the next stage of their lives, the loss of Danny will forever be something that they think about on a daily basis. Kidman does a great job at showing how challenging it can be to suppress her sense of sadness; even though she is able to ostensibly appear to be doing well when she begins to engage in her community gatherings, even the slightest reminder of Danny’s life has the ability to send her into a downward spiral.
‘Rabbit Hole’ Is an Uncompromising Analysis of Grief

Rabbit Hole is able to examine the effects of tragedy on a marriage, as both Howard and Rebecca choose to recede into their own feelings of misery rather than reaching out to one another. Rebecca knows that Howard’s attempts to “work on” his grief through therapy are well-intentioned, but that remaining in an environment where he is constantly reminded of his loss will ultimately not be helpful. Despite the fact that they have trouble being intimate together, Eckhart and Kidman do a great job at reminding viewers that at the end of the day, Howard and Rebecca still deeply love each other.
Rabbit Hole offers a complex examination of forgiveness, as it shows how finding a culprit to pin one’s tragedy on is ultimately not going to resolve their sense of grief. After spending time with Jason, Rebecca comes to recognize that he is just as traumatized about the incident as they are and will bear the guilt of Howard’s misplaced anger towards him for the rest of his life. Kidman’s ability to show Rebecca’s compassion for Jason allows the film to reach its most powerful moments. Rabbit Hole is ultimately a film about forgiveness, and Kidman shows that it is only possible to forgive others after one has already forgiven themselves.
Rabbit Hole is streaming on Tubi in the U.S.

Rabbit Hole

Release Date

December 16, 2010

Runtime

91 minutes

Director

John Cameron Mitchell

Writers

David Lindsay-Abaire

Producers

Bill Lischak, Gigi Pritzker, Leslie Urdang, Nicole Kidman, Per Saari, Linda McDonough, Daniel Revers, Dean Vanech

Watch on Tubi