Rabbit Hole

Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart play Becca and Howie, a late-thirtysomething married couple living a seemingly ordinary yupscale existence in a New York City bedroom community. But tell-tale signs indicate that something is amiss. Turns out they’re still reeling from the accidental death of their toddler son eight months earlier. Neither is quite certain how to move on. Group therapy sessions with other grieving parents don’t help dull the pain, and Becca’s mother Nat (Diane Wiest) and kid sister Izzy (Tammy Blanchard) are less helpful than merely intrusive. David Lindsay-Abaire adapted his play for the movie and intelligently opens it up for the new demands, while director John Cameron Mitchell elicits empathetic performances from his lead actors, without pushing either into the sort of teary bathos the material would seem to encourage. If Rabbit Hole is ultimately less moving on screen than it was as a play, it still remains a terrific actor’s showcase. Anyone who values great acting can’t afford to miss it.