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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
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You, the Living
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
In the Bedroom

Universal acclaim
Based on 31 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 62 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie >
Movie Info
Genre(s): Drama
Written by:
Robert Festinger
Todd Field
Andre Dubus (short story Killings)
Directed by: Todd Field
Release Date:
Theatrical: November 23, 2001
DVD: August 13, 2002
Running Time: 131 minutes, Color
Origin: USA
Summary
RATING: R for some violence and language
Starring Tom Wilkinson, Sissy Spacek, Nick Stahl, William Mapother, Marisa Tomei, and William Wise
Set in a tranquil town on the coast of Maine, In the Bedroom tells the story of a couple (Spacek, Wilkinson) whose only child is involved in a love affair with a single mother (Tomei). When the relationship comes to a sudden and tragic end, each person must face the intensely difficult decision of how to respond. (Miramax)
Also On Metacritic
FILM: Little Children
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database View The Trailer Official Studio Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Boston Globe Jay Carr
The surehandedly wrought, beautifully acted, almost unbearably tense In the Bedroom is a rare film, not to be missed.
Newsweek David Ansen
The compositions, the editing, the lighting, the sound, the music: everything seems meticulously considered, conjuring up a hushed intimacy that instantly sucks you in.
Read Full Review >Slate David Edelstein
The best movie of the last several years: the most evocative, the most mysterious, the most inconsolably devastating.
Read Full Review >The New York Times Stephen Holden
When a film as profoundly quiet as In the Bedroom comes along, it feels almost miraculous, as if a shimmering piece of art had slipped below the radar and through the minefield of commerce.
Read Full Review >San Francisco Chronicle Edward Guthmann
A lot of actors are labeled "brave" for taking on difficult scripts like this, but Spacek is the real thing: an artist first, without vanity, and a movie star almost by default.
Read Full Review >Philadelphia Inquirer Desmond Ryan
When it comes to the realistic portrayal of the complex process of grief, most actresses are at a loss. Sissy Spacek is decidedly not most actresses.
Read Full Review >Los Angeles Times Kenneth Turan
With performances that will raise the hairs on the back of your head, it's a film that knows the private geography of love, grief and obsession.
Read Full Review >Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum
The uncoagulated anguish of parents mourning the death of a child has rarely been more powerfully depicted than in the collected vignettes of grief, rage, and retribution that make up the riveting domestic drama In the Bedroom.
Read Full Review >Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
There are scenes as true as movies can make them, and even when the story develops thriller elements, they are redeemed, because the movie isn't about what happens, but about why.
Read Full Review >Wall Street Journal Joe Morgenstern
The kind of movie they don't make any more -- a seriously beautiful, deliberately paced drama that meanders for a while at the pace of a summer romance, then explodes with phenomenal force.
Portland Oregonian Shawn Levy
Demanding, harrowing and very, very real. You won't shake its impact easily.
The New Yorker David Denby
Field achieves so convincing a picture of everday normality that when violence breaks out one feels the same disbelief that one feels when it breaks out in life. [26 Nov 2001, p. 121]
Salon.com Andrew O'Hehir
For all its flaws, In the Bedroom is an unusual accomplishment, a serious drama about violence and morality that plays out with a fatalistic intensity somewhere between Greek tragedy and film noir.
Read Full Review >Rolling Stone Peter Travers
An uncommonly good movie - a thriller that transcends thrills to become a heartfelt and heart-stopping personal drama.
Read Full Review >Austin Chronicle Kimberley Jones
The actors, as a powerful and convincing ensemble, are equally understated and just as devastating.
Read Full Review >Charlotte Observer Lawrence Toppman
Field does what most American directors don't: He shows people at work, in the day-to-day activity unmarked by excitement.
Read Full Review >USA Today Mike Clark
Bedroom succeeds with performances that get some of their power from imaginative casting.
Read Full Review >Chicago Tribune Michael Wilmington
It sneaks up on you and shakes you: a tale of the cold hell surging up beneath that windy, sensuous Wyeth landscape.
Read Full Review >New York Post Lou Lumenick
Tremendously affecting on several levels, In the Bedroom is must-see viewing for anyone who complains Hollywood doesn't make movies for grownups.
Read Full Review >Seattle Post-Intelligencer William Arnold
Like Kubrick, Field doesn't make any moral judgments about his characters, and his film remains stubbornly enigmatic. It can be read as a high-class revenge thriller, an ode to the futility of vengeance or almost anything in between.
Read Full Review >LA Weekly Ella Taylor
Goes the distance to avoid banalizing the dilemma of a reasonable couple unhinged by unreasonable events.
Read Full Review >New Times (L.A.) Robert Wilonsky
If Dubus' work always resembled some sort of literary therapy session, as has often been said, then Field's version requires grief counseling. It is, at times, that devastating.
Read Full Review >Variety Todd McCarthy
Beautifully acted by a diverse ensemble, this Good Machine production is carefully crafted and deliberately paced.
Read Full Review >New York Magazine Peter Rainer
Field made a thriller about what we are capable of in the name of hatred -- and of love.
Read Full Review >New York Daily News Jack Mathews
It's a human drama, drawn in such careful emotional detail, its two acts of violence -- one shown, one not -- are almost incidental.
Christian Science Monitor David Sterritt
Directed by newcomer Todd Field, who has a sensitive eye and a knack for storytelling.
Read Full Review >Film Threat Tim Merrill
A courageous film, especially from a first-time director, and deserves all the audience support it can attract. It’s a People Story, and it’s About Something. However, it’s also something of a heavy sit.
Read Full Review >Washington Post Stephen Hunter
Short of good, better than awful, it opens brilliantly, then just goes on, toward self-negating absurdity.
Read Full Review >Chicago Reader Ronnie Scheib
A killer ending does not a movie make, and ultimately In the Bedroom may be more interesting to talk about than sit through.
Read Full Review >Village Voice J. Hoberman
Increasingly unconvincing, In the Bedroom turns genteel rabble-rouser. Field's leisurely buildup forestalls but doesn't prevent his movie's mutation into a granola "Death Wish."
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 7.4 (out of 10) based on 62 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Creedence B. gave it a10:
just from scanning the shown critic's lowest ratings(and i'm sure they are in the minority), i really wonder, just what is a good film to so-called 'critics'.....the acting was superb, the directing very.....life-like is the only way i can describe it........and the story so heart-wrenching, i wonder how anyone could not be moved by this comment on society in the most genuine and well-rounded view of death of a loved one (in this case murder) that i have ever seen.
dave z gave it a10:
I bought this used before knowing anything about the film from blockbuster. What a great choice! This movie stirs the soul. I think we can all relate to at least 1 if not all the main characters involved. The villain is unclear... it seems as all the characters hold some form of evil inside of them whether it be by neglect, indifference, anger or revenge. This movie will no doubt leave you with the same kind of gratification that one had gotten from hearing that Hitler committed suicide before serving justice.
Paolo A gave it a10:
Good.
J. Ryan G. gave it a6:
Doesn't seem to age very well. I remember being strongly affected by the film immediately upon seeing it. I also remember doing an awful lot of work to conjure up those feelings. The film didn't necessarily drag them out of me. And so, as years go by, and after seeing it once or twice more, it seems quite unremarkable. I still like Marisa Tomei a lot in this role, but I have become especially frustrated at Sissy Spacek's rather dull performance.
Joe A. gave it a10:
Movies don't get much better than this. Reality is always more interesting than fiction, and this is life imitating art.
Michael M. gave it a 10:
Without a doubt, One of the finest movies ever made! This movie is such an excellent film. It is a tiny bit slow at parts, but isn't every movie? The acting is what really makes this movie so great. The story is about a New England couple, Matt (Tom Wilkinson) and Ruth (Sissy Spacek) Fowler who both deal with the loss of their son Frank (Nick Stahl), who was murdered by his older girlfriend's (Marissa Tomei) ex-husband (William Mapother). After the killer gets set loose due to lack of evidence, they both can't believe it. With anger they even start blaming each other. The mother chooses to not only blame Frank's girlfriend but her husband Matt also. This is an excellent movie not only good for drama fans but for others. Sissy Spacek is beyond fantastic in her role, while Marissa Tomei is very good also. I would have to say the best performance in the whole movie is Tom Wilkinson's absolutley compelling and riveting performance that should (but of course didn't) win him the Oscar for Best Actor. Denzel Washington was the most popular, that's why he won the award. It was also politcally correct at the time. If you haven't already watch this film. It is very depressing so make sure to have a tissue box with you. Tom Wilkinson and Sissy Spacek's performances remain to this day some of the greatest performances I've ever seen on screen or anywhere! (10/23/04)
Gerron K gave it a 10:
This film comes close to flawless as it ever could. With an absolutely riveting performance by Sissy Spacek and a powerful performance by Tim Wilkinson, this film is one of the top films of 2000. Quite disturbing, yet artistic, this film is poetic and poignant. It epitomizes what a film can be when everything is in order.
