Movie reviews, production notes, and more! - "Things We Lost in the Fire"

Movie Review: Things We Lost in the Fire

Film Review By Michael Phillips, Tribune movie critic The Danish director Susanne Bier makes her English-language filmmaking debut with "Things We Lost in the Fire," which reveals her to be fluent in the language of the glossy Hollywood drama. Now, most filmgoers will not care about who directed the film. They simply want to know if a glossy Hollywood drama about a recovering heroin addict played by Benicio Del Toro and a grieving widow played by Halle Berry is worth their time. It is, in fact. And the direction is a significant part of the reasons why. Bier, whose previous film was the gripping melodrama "After the Wedding," keeps the thing honest. She shoots "Things We Lost in the Fire" in a style drawing from, among others, "Open Hearts," which she made according to the rough-hewn strictures of the Dogma school. "After the Wedding" retained much of that restless hand-held intimacy while calling less attention to the technique. "Things We Lost in the Fire" finds Bier at an interesting juncture, half-Dogmatic, half traditionalist. Mainly, she's very good with actors. The film begins as do most dramas skirting the edges of grief-porn, with a loving family wracked by tragic loss. Audrey ... read more Official Web Site: http://www.thingswelostinthefire.com/ Back to main movie page Showing Today at: Click here for other showings