Things We Lost in the Fire

I expected to be depressed by this movie. I heard it was about a heroin addict, so naturally, I assumed it would be a downer. Imagine my surprise to discover what an uplifting movie it actually is! And it gets better: This film celebrated my favorite quality (if one can be said to have such a thing as a 'favorite quality' without being accused of vagueness). That is, subtlety. It's my favorite quality in people and in acting and in filmmaking. It's my favorite quality in flavor and in flirtation and in intelligent conversation. It's my favorite quality.

Anyway, subtlety. Let me give you some examples.

Subtlety in camerawork: A lingering closeup on one - just one - of Halle Berry's eyes. The mark of tears, but no tears, on the side of her face. When she goes to the sink then, to wash her face, we see the water softly splashing as she washes her hands. (Subtle substitute for image of crying, you see.)

Subtlety in character development: Benicio del Toro plays the part of Jerry, the long-time friend of a man who's just died. Jerry shows up at the funeral and it's clear that no one knows who he is. (Well, even before the wife - Halle Berry - called him, people were asking "who's Jerry.") Jerry is alone at the funeral, wandering, sort of lost, smoking one cigarette with another behind his ear. We, the viewers, already know that he's an addict, and that the friendship was kept hidden for a reason. Thing is we don't know how Jerry feels about it. He seems sad, but how close were they, really? We're wondering. We're watching Jerry for a few good minutes and we want to like him, but we're not sure if we can. Then, he approaches the two kids on the swing. And slowly, he begins revealing himself to them. He lets them know that he knows stories about them. Something about a burn or a birthmark or a fear one of them has.

We, the viewers, can see then that he was a good friend of the dead man, a confidant. We realize that Jerry can be taken seriously. This is the superficial work of the scene. What's the subtlety, you're wondering? Consider: Jerry reveals himself only to the kids.

There isn't much in the way of "plot," and I understand why critics panned the film.

You may be curious about thematic subtlety (as I often am); i.e. "What's the point of this movie?" It's often hard to figure out when you've got mostly mood to go on, and some subtle writing.

I'll tell you. There is only one major plot point in the film - several small ones, of course, and plenty of beautiful camerawork and character development to keep you going, but only one major plot point. The key to theme is in that plot point. If you can figure out why it happens - What do Audrey and Jerry have in common? - then you've got it and everything that was subtle becomes obvious, all of a sudden. All of a beautiful sudden.

The question is, Can mood, subtle camerawork, and subtle character development keep you going until you get to this point? For me, they can.