Things We Lost in the Fire

When loving husband Brian Burke (David Duchovny) gets unpurposefully murdered, when interfering with a couple's fight, his wife and mother of two Audrey (Halle Berry) is left to cope all by herself. Brian does leave a sizable amount of money, which guarantees her legroom, but the tragic death remains unbearable. Brian's best friend Jerry Sunborne (Benicio Del Toro) is a recurring drug addict, kept away from the family, but he nonetheless visited and helped out despite the spiralling downfall. The funeral of his friend serves as a way of connecting Audrey with Jerry, who ultimately takes in on herself to save him from the untimely narcotic fate.

In my mind Susanne Bier remains one of the most massively overrated modern-day directors. Essentially an executor of high-end dramatic drivel her most major flaw comes from attempts of integrated foreign elements into her story (the good doctor in Africa in "Haevnen" or an Afghanistan POW back-story in "Brodre") with such infantilism and well-intentioned but borderline misguided racism, that blow-back is inevitable. Nonetheless Sussane Bier is extremely effective and in-depth at uncovering frailties of family life, however any ventures outside her safety zone of first world reality are true calamities in her work.

Her fortunately the material stays close to home, giving a strong dramatic back-drop of the disruptive relationship of harrowing widow and recovering drug-addict. Nonetheless "Things We Lost in the Fire" feels at times like a compassionate top shelf family drama, occasionally glossy and with hints of soap opera, where the overall impact is increased by the powerful performance of Benicio del Toro. Every inch of his body aches and reacts, giving a truly masterful role, which is a real must. Whereas the story itself is intriguing, but somewhat unmemorable, images of del Toro and the pain, longing or remorse reverberating throughout his whole body is something that truly needs to be admired.

The Good: The writing and acting are top notch. The Bad: The hand held camera pans and scans and really, REALLY, close, close-ups are a little dis-concerting.

But Benicio DelToro is right on with his performance! Best acting I've seen in a while.

Saw the movie at a preview in Cleveland. The Theatre was packed, and the reaction from most people was that it was too heavy, too depressing. But it is exactly that quality that makes it ring true. The interplay between the neighbor that hates his wife and Benicio's character are perfect. A smaller role is played by Alison Lohman ( Matchstick Men ) was also very well acted.

A steadier camera without the wild pans and I would give it a 9 or 10.

I think a lot of people are skipping "Things We Lost In The Fire" because they think it is going to be depressing. While the film is definitely sad, it is not depressing because it is about coping and surviving in the face of tragedy. It is one of the best films of the year.

Halle Berry and Benicio Del Toro give amazing performances and it is unfortunate that there are not more films that take advantage of their talents. I bet Halle Berry would not make so many bad films if she were given more scripts like this. The photography and directing are first rate.

If you have enough interest in this movie to be reading this review, you need to run out and see "Things We Lost In The Fire." This is a film about the things that matter most in life. It will lose much of it's impact on video, so you need to see it on the big screen while you can.

Greetings again from the darkness. Very good melodrama from Scandanavian director Susanne Bier. The film is intentionally slow moving ... just like real life tragedy. Although we could have been beaten over the head with the cute as heck kids, the story is actually more focused on the heroin addicted best friend played by Benecio del Toro. This makes the point that strength can come from many sources.

Halle Berry gives her best performance since "Monster's Ball" (yes even better than "Catwoman"). We feel her happiness, pain, desperation and hope. The cute kids are played by an amazing 11 yr old Alexis Llewellyn and Micah Berry (not her real life son). Also strong is Alison Lohman, who just doesn't work enough these days. However the strongest performance is by Benecio. I am not sure if the role was written for him or if he just perfectly captures best friend Jerry. It is most complicated role and requires enormous depth.

I definitely recommend the film thanks to its basis in reality and fine performances and terrific direction. However, I will qualify it by saying that I don't believe it is quite in the class of "21 Grams"

Things We Lost in the Fire shows the effects on family and unity after the death of a loved one. I can relate to this story knowing how much it hurts you missing that particular person everyday. The story of this film is pretty even well paced, yet a bit dragged in the beginning. Benicio Del Toro gives a very invigorating performance, possible one of his bests. Halle Berry really surprised me in this film. She really shows the stages of grief and acceptance very well and at one scene I thought Oscar worthy again. The supporting cast, specifically the children and the next door neighbor, were astounding. Good script, a little bit over with the tight close ups, but TWLITF makes you think about the loved ones close to you and how you should tell them everyday, "I love you and for that I will accept the good."