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Director: Susanne Bier
Starring: Halle Berry, Benecio Del Toro, David Duchovny, Alexis Llewellyn, Micah Berry, John Carroll Lynch, Alison Lohman, Omar Benson Miller
Things We Lost In The Fire is the first English language feature by Danish director Susanne Bier and is a powerful, but dreary drama about dealing with loss of a loved one and the pain of addiction. There are potent performances, but not a lot of chuckles with this honest Allan Loeb (21) screenplay. The mood, look and subject matter are all dark, but if you are in the mood for an emotional drama, you could do a lot worse, but the whole thing still feels too familiar.
Halle Berry is Audrey Burke, a suburban housewife with a happy marriage and two kids until her husband, Brian (David Duchovny) dies suddenly and tragically. In her efforts to cope, she finds herself leaning on Brian’s best friend, Jerry (Benecio Del Toro) for support, though she hated him previously for his disturbing presence in her husband’s life. Jerry is a recovering addict who is shocked and changed by the death of the one person who never gave up on him. With his honest and soft-spoken manner, Jerry manages to help those dealing with the loss of a special man, while attempting to find himself again, as well.
Things We Lost In The Fire is a cliched drama, but a well-written one, marked by fantastic acting by Oscar winners, Barry and Del Torro, who haven’t seen much of for too long. For whatever the reason, the film was largely ignored by critics and award presentations, though a couple of acting nominations would have been well-deserved.
