This film is about how a husband Matt, played by Tom Wilkinson and his wife Ruth, played by Sissy Spacek deals with the murder of their son, and how far they are willing to go through to erase one thing that will forever be a reminder to the event for them.
After their son's death, Matt and Ruth, each with different personalities and views of life, handle their emotions very differently, in which it eventually puts a strain in their marriage. After Ruth constantly runs into her son's killer, who is out on bail, along with the possibility of him being released from jail and back in their life again in only a few years, Matt decides to take care of the situation himself. The method is particularly extreme, but it was the only way, and no doubt that he was persuaded by his friend Willis (who also assisted him) who gives his outsider clinical perspective. We come to realize at the end that it wasn't just Matt taking care of the matter on his own, but Ruth also had knowledge of what's going to happen and was not against it. She was even indifferent to what took place after the fact, all for the sake of her peace of mind. But to give her that, Matt has to live with what he did forever.
I think the movie tries to take the simplistic approach, going for the "get rid of the problem" path too quickly, and too little on dealing with everyone's dilemma and ironies that arise from their actions. What little they do introduce is too easily overshadowed by the climactic event that occurs. Kieslowski's Decalogue or Atom Egoyan's The Sweet Hereafter this ain't.
There is very little melodrama in the film, it basically let the events drive itself. Although I do feel in the second half of the film, while the director is trying to show the empty and hollow life the family are experiencing after the murder, he might have dragged some parts a little too long, mostly by letting much of the idle scenes continue just a bit longer that needed. Much of it still could have been conveyed with some trimming to those scenes.
Overall, still a pretty good movie.
After their son's death, Matt and Ruth, each with different personalities and views of life, handle their emotions very differently, in which it eventually puts a strain in their marriage. After Ruth constantly runs into her son's killer, who is out on bail, along with the possibility of him being released from jail and back in their life again in only a few years, Matt decides to take care of the situation himself. The method is particularly extreme, but it was the only way, and no doubt that he was persuaded by his friend Willis (who also assisted him) who gives his outsider clinical perspective. We come to realize at the end that it wasn't just Matt taking care of the matter on his own, but Ruth also had knowledge of what's going to happen and was not against it. She was even indifferent to what took place after the fact, all for the sake of her peace of mind. But to give her that, Matt has to live with what he did forever.
I think the movie tries to take the simplistic approach, going for the "get rid of the problem" path too quickly, and too little on dealing with everyone's dilemma and ironies that arise from their actions. What little they do introduce is too easily overshadowed by the climactic event that occurs. Kieslowski's Decalogue or Atom Egoyan's The Sweet Hereafter this ain't.
There is very little melodrama in the film, it basically let the events drive itself. Although I do feel in the second half of the film, while the director is trying to show the empty and hollow life the family are experiencing after the murder, he might have dragged some parts a little too long, mostly by letting much of the idle scenes continue just a bit longer that needed. Much of it still could have been conveyed with some trimming to those scenes.
Overall, still a pretty good movie.