Portia McGroarty
“Things We Lost in the Fire” is a story about life, death and what happens to us when someone we love transitions between the two.
The movie centers around the death of father, husband, son and friend, Brian, played by David Duchovny.
Danish director Susanne Bier paints the screen with lucid imagery to draw on the audience’s senses. Whether it is the classic rock style sounds emanating from Jerry Sunborne’s (Benicio Del Toro) headphones, or the streaming close-ups of tear-filled eyes, Bier creates a strong connection between audiences’ emotions and those of her characters.
In Brian’s relationship with his childhood best friend, Jerry Sunborne (Benicio Del Toro), we see how the path one takes into adulthood determines the friendships we keep. Against his wife’s objections, Brian struggles to remain supportive of Jerry, whose drug addiction has separated him from the rest of the world.
With Brian serving as the family’s backbone, the film’s central question is what happens when a family unexpectedly loses that backbone. In each character we see how people differ in their approaches to coping with loss.
Through the character of Brian’s mother, we see grief in its most raw form, as it literally cripples her. Bedridden, her coping methods serve as polar opposites to Audrey’s (Halle Berry) who is forced to maintain composure for the sake of her children.
Wearing a zombie-like expression throughout Brian’s funeral, coupled with her inability to sleep for weeks after, Berry taps into the emotional struggle one feels when faced with loss of their one true love.
With a pillar of the family stolen in death, Audrey is forced to remain the only stable support for her children and is unable to fully embrace and deal with the loss of her husband.
However, as she selflessly tries to ignore her own pain she begins to internally fall apart. In an attempt to fill the cold and silent emptiness of a once lively home, Audrey invites Jerry to live in the guest house.
The audience is shown the darkest side of addiction through Jerry’s painful heroin withdrawals, as well as the strength one can find in themselves after a traumatic loss.
However slow to take off, what this film lacks in excitement it makes up for in depth.
Overall Rating: B