The Best Actress race this year is wide open with a number of strong performances from women in a wide variety of films this year, and with no one person seeming like a lock, the field will be getting a very strong contender in Nicole Kidman, thanks to her outstanding turn in John Cameron Mitchell‘s “Rabbit Hole.”
A trailer for the film has now arrived and perfectly captures the tender, heavy and yes, often humorous tone of the film. Based on the play by David Lindsay-Abaire and adapted for the screen by the playwright himself, the film stars Kidman and Aaron Eckhart as Becca and Howie, a couple who are in the wake of the devastating loss of their young son. It’s carefully constructed character piece, one that rings with an authenticity and depth that resonated with The Playlist team who saw the film at TIFF (you can read reviews of the film here and here). Kidman and Eckhart are surround by a solid supporting cast including Dianne Wiest (who could possibly snag a supporting actress nom herself), Miles Teller and Sandra Oh. Oh yeah, that song in the trailer is “The High Road” by Broken Bells.
The film was picked up by Lionsgate and will hit theaters on December 17th. The official synopsis and trailer is below (or watch it in HD at Apple).
RABBIT HOLE is a vivid, hopeful, honest and unexpectedly witty portrait of a family searching for what remains possible in the most impossible of all situations. Becca and Howie Corbett (NICOLE KIDMAN and AARON ECKHART) are returning to their everyday existence in the wake of a shocking, sudden loss. Just eight months ago, they were a happy suburban family with everything they wanted. Now, they are caught in a maze of memory, longing, guilt, recrimination, sarcasm and tightly controlled rage from which they cannot escape. While Becca finds pain in the familiar, Howie finds comfort. The shifts come in abrupt, unforeseen moments. Becca hesitantly opens up to her opinionated, loving mother (DIANNE WIEST) and secretly reaches out to the teenager involved in the accident that changed everything (MILES TELLER); while Howie lashes out and imagines solace with another woman (SANDRA OH). Yet, as off track as they are, the couple keeps trying to find their way back to a life that still holds the potential for beauty, laughter and happiness. The resulting journey is an intimate glimpse into two people learning to re-engage with each other and a world that has been tilted off its axis.