Despite the fact that Things We Lost in the Fire has one of the most cliche plotlines ever it actually turns out to be one of the least cliche driven films of the year as director Susanne Bier along with everyone else involved turns in one of the best films of 2007. This one truly blew me away.
The film tells the story of Audrey Burke (Halle Berry) who has suddenly lost her husband (David Duchovny) leaving her alone with her two children. The opening of the film is a scattered story bouncing back and forth in time giving us a glimpse into the relationship Audrey had with her kids and husband before she died along with her husband’s never ending friendship with a man named Jerry Sunborne (Benicio del Toro).
Jerry was at one time a successful lawyer, but he turned to heroine and has since been trying to kick the habit. Audrey’s husband never lost faith in Jerry and did everything he could to motivate him to get clean and sober, so much so that at his funeral Jerry tells his two children, “Your dad was my best friend,” which certainly comes as a shock since they had never seen or met Jerry before.
Audrey viewed Jerry as a menace, as something of a parasite sucking the good out of her husband and taking him away from her, but she soon finds herself drawn to Jerry, not romantically but as one of the only means that can help her cope with her loss. The film becomes a story of love, life, friendship and strength and is so perfectly told I don’t know how anyone could not enjoy it.
Bier’s direction is absolutely perfect as she delicately guides the story, never forcing any one particular issue. Most notably is her treatment of the relationship between Audrey and Jerry, a relationship that easily could have turned into some silly romantic love affair, but instead it is one in which both characters always seem to keep each other at arms distance despite the urge to fill the gaping hole in their hearts.
There is a way in which virtually all physical contact between the two is led by Audrey’s character that it gives so much more weight to each and every scene the two are involved in that. It is the one guiding different that makes Things We Lost in the Fire an extremely emotional film rather than a soapy love story you have seen one too many times. Bier avoids cliche sadness and sappy love scenes, as she leaves the focus on the power of strength, friendship and simply being there for another human being. Bier allows her characters to tell the story rather than force you into the emotion of the film. Sweeping scores aren’t used to tell you when to be happy or when to be sad. The dialogue and action on screen manages to do it all on its own, which is testament to the director’s competency.
To say that I whole-heartedly endorse this film is an understatement. It is unfortunate Paramount is only releasing this one in a limited number of theaters, even though I think a large release would still be a waste of time. They are going to be hard pressed to get people into see this one, but hopefully my review will get one more ass in those seats, and if it is more than that then good on yah. This is a film for everyone, that is everyone that has at least one friend or a beating heart.
