Things We Lost in the Fire

Things We Lost in the Fire is a lovely, sensitive film about love and loss, coping with grief and starting over. It is too bad that the film is not doing better at the box office.

Suzanne Bier has directed some wonderful Danish films including the Oscar nominated After the Wedding and Brothers. She has a wonderful way of dealing with her characters and she uses a hand held camera to make sure you see every emotion in their face up close.

The story is a deceptively simple one. Audrey (Halle Berry) and Steven (David Duchovny) Burke have good life. The seem happy together and they don't lack for anything. Steven does well in his business. They have two beautiful children - Harper (Alexis Llewellyn) and Dory (Michah Berry). Steven is also a very compassionate person. He has maintained a close friendship with Jerry Sunborne (Benicio Del Toro) despite the fact that the latter is a drug addict. Needless to say, Audrey does not approve of their friendship. One night while getting ice cream for the kids Steven comes to the aid of a woman being beaten by her boyfriend (husband). The boyfriend retaliates by shooting Steven dead.

Audrey is in shock and finds it hard to cope. She invites Jerry to move into the garage. And that is about all I will tell you. I will say that things turn out differently then one might expect. Both of these people have to work out a lot of tough stuff that life has given them.

This is a film that deals with emotions rather than big plots. The script is well written by Alan Loeb. Berry is wonderful in this film. I am glad that she has found a part that uses her talents after such a long stretch of mediocre roles. Del Toro is fantastic. There is one segment of the film in which he is really amazing. Duchovny, an actor that I never thought was that talented, is very good in his small role. And the actors who play the children are also great. Rounding out a good cast is John Carroll Lynch as a neighbor named Howard Glassman and Alison Lohman as Kelly, a young woman that Jerry meets at a 12 step program.

The film never focuses on race - which is a good thing. And there was something else that I found interesting. Harper is a vegetarian. That is not a big deal - many children are these days.
And Audrey has a copy of The Vegetarian Kitchen amongst her cookbooks. But Jerry is also a vegetarian. I found that making the character a vegetarian drug addict was something a bit different.

I like Biers' work and I look forward to seeing what she does next. I recommend this film to those of you who want to see a film that will touch your heart and soul.