Things We Lost in the Fire (film)
| Things We Lost in the Fire | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster. | |
| Directed by | Susanne Bier |
| Produced by |
Sam Mendes Sam Mercer |
| Written by | Allan Loeb |
| Starring |
Halle Berry Benicio del Toro David Duchovny |
| Music by |
Gustavo Santaolalla Johan Söderqvist |
| Cinematography | Tom Stern |
| Edited by |
Pernille Bech Christensen Bruce Cannon |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
Release date | October 19, 2007 |
Running time | 118 minutes |
| Country |
United States United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $16 million[1] |
| Box office | $8.6 million[2] |
Things We Lost in the Fire is a 2007 drama film directed by Susanne Bier, written by Allan Loeb, and starring Halle Berry and Benicio del Toro. The film was released in the United States and Canada on October 19, 2007 and in the United Kingdom on February 1, 2008.
Plot
Audrey Burke (Halle Berry) and her warm and loving husband Brian (David Duchovny) have been happily married 11 years; they have a 10-year-old daughter named Harper (Alexis Llewellyn) and a 6-year-old son named Dory (Micah Berry). Jerry Sunborne (Benicio del Toro) is a heroin addict who has been Brian’s close friend since childhood.
Audrey gets tragic news delivered to her door by the local police: Brian has been killed in an attempt to defend a woman who was being beaten by her husband. On the day of the funeral Audrey realizes that she has forgotten to inform Jerry of Brian's death. Her brother Neal (Omar Benson Miller) delivers the message to Jerry and takes him to the funeral.
Audrey invites Jerry to move into the room adjacent to their garage, which he does. During his stay at the Burke home Jerry struggles to remain drug-free and also becomes very fond of Harper and Dory. The relationship between Jerry and Audrey is fragile and complicated. Jerry helps Audrey cope in many ways, including lying with her in bed to help her sleep. But Audrey, upset and confused, takes out her grief at Brian's death on Jerry. She becomes angry when Jerry helps Dory overcome his fear of submerging his head in the pool, as this had been something Brian had tried to do for years.
Eventually her rudeness to Jerry causes him to move out and relapse with heroin. Audrey and Neal rescue and rehabilitate Jerry, and he agrees to admit himself to a specialized clinic. At first Harper, who has come to love Jerry, is angry that he is leaving, but after he leaves her a heartfelt note she accepts that he is going.
At the close of the film Jerry is still struggling with his addiction but seems to be well on his way to recovery. He leaves flowers on Audrey's doorstep with a note that reads, "Accept the good", a phrase which Jerry had told Brian, and that Brian had subsequently said to Audrey many times.
Cast
- Halle Berry as Audrey Burke
- Benicio del Toro as Jerry Sunborne
- David Duchovny as Brian Burke
- Alexis Llewellyn as Harper Burke
- Micah Berry as Dory Burke
- John Carroll Lynch as Howard Glassman
- Alison Lohman as Kelly
- Robin Weigert as Brenda
- Omar Benson Miller as Neal
- Liam James as cousin Dave
Music
The soundtrack to Things We Lost in the Fire was released on October 30, 2007.
| No. | Title | Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Opening Montage" | Gustavo Santaolalla & Johan Söderqvist | 1:44 |
| 2. | "Audrey with Flowers" | Gustavo Santaolalla & Johan Söderqvist | 0:28 |
| 3. | "Funeral Dinner" | Gustavo Santaolalla & Johan Söderqvist | 1:03 |
| 4. | "Jerry's Apartment" | Gustavo Santaolalla & Johan Söderqvist | 0:33 |
| 5. | "Audrey in Bed" | Gustavo Santaolalla & Johan Söderqvist | 0:47 |
| 6. | "The Funeral" | Gustavo Santaolalla & Johan Söderqvist | 1:23 |
| 7. | "Jerry by Window" | Gustavo Santaolalla & Johan Söderqvist | 0:47 |
| 8. | "Brian Rubs Ear" | Gustavo Santaolalla & Johan Söderqvist | 0:37 |
| 9. | "Brian Dies" | Gustavo Santaolalla & Johan Söderqvist | 0:45 |
| 10. | "After the Shooting" | Gustavo Santaolalla & Johan Söderqvist | 2:38 |
| 11. | "Audrey's Upset" | Gustavo Santaolalla & Johan Söderqvist | 1:27 |
| 12. | "Audrey Can't Sleep" | Gustavo Santaolalla & Johan Söderqvist | 0:50 |
| 13. | "Jerry Rubs Ear" | Gustavo Santaolalla & Johan Söderqvist | 0:42 |
| 14. | "Audrey and Jerry in the Study" | Gustavo Santaolalla & Johan Söderqvist | 1:18 |
| 15. | "Audrey Brings Clothes" | Gustavo Santaolalla & Johan Söderqvist | 0:29 |
| 16. | "Almost a Kiss" | Gustavo Santaolalla & Johan Söderqvist | 0:59 |
| 17. | "Jerry Takes Test" | Gustavo Santaolalla & Johan Söderqvist | 0:26 |
| 18. | "Audrey Throws Out Jerry" | Gustavo Santaolalla & Johan Söderqvist | 0:45 |
| 19. | "Harper on Sofa" | Gustavo Santaolalla & Johan Söderqvist | 0:52 |
| 20. | "Will He Die Now?" | Gustavo Santaolalla & Johan Söderqvist | 0:48 |
| 21. | "Drug Alley" | Gustavo Santaolalla & Johan Söderqvist | 1:59 |
| 22. | "Jerry and Neal" | Gustavo Santaolalla & Johan Söderqvist | 1:56 |
| 23. | "Cold Turkey 1" | Gustavo Santaolalla & Johan Söderqvist | 0:51 |
| 24. | "Cold Turkey 2" | Gustavo Santaolalla & Johan Söderqvist | 0:53 |
| 25. | "The Dinner" | Gustavo Santaolalla & Johan Söderqvist | 3:38 |
| 26. | "Audrey Breaks Down" | Gustavo Santaolalla & Johan Söderqvist | 2:36 |
| 27. | "Do They Glow?" | Gustavo Santaolalla & Johan Söderqvist | 1:18 |
| 28. | "The Cemetery" | Gustavo Santaolalla & Johan Söderqvist | 1:19 |
| 29. | "Audrey Opens the Letter" | Gustavo Santaolalla & Johan Söderqvist | 0:27 |
| 30. | "End Credits" | Gustavo Santaolalla & Johan Söderqvist | 2:51 |
| Total length: | 37:09[3] | ||
Reception
Box office
The film was released October 19, 2007 in 1,142 theaters in the United States and Canada and grossed $1.5 million its opening weekend, ranking #15 at the box office.[4] As of November 18, 2007, it has grossed $3,287,315.
Critical reception
Critics gave the film generally favorable reviews. As of January 29, 2008 on the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, 64% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 117 reviews.[5] On Metacritic, the film had an average score of 63 out of 100, based on 30 reviews.[6] The two leads received praise for their performances, particularly Benicio Del Toro as he received immense acclaim for his portrayal of Jerry, considered one of his best roles to date.
Josh Rosenblatt of The Austin Chronicle gave the film 4 stars and said the film is "an impeccably constructed and perfectly paced drama of domestic and internal volatility." Rosenblatt wrote "Berry is brilliant here, as good as she’s ever been" and said of Benicio del Toro's performance, "with Things We Lost in the Fire, he's managed to top even himself."[7] Jack Mathews of the New York Daily News gave the film 3½ stars and called it "an award contender...in several positions." Mathews said it is "beautifully written" by Allan Loeb and "acted with heartbreaking efficiency by Halle Berry and Benicio del Toro."[8] Los Angeles Daily News critic Glenn Whipp said the film "will probably be most American moviegoers' introduction to the Dogma-flavored direction of Susanne Bier" and said "Newcomers probably won't be as irritated by Bier's herky-jerky, hand-held camerawork, desaturated colors and odd obsession with random close-ups, especially of characters' eyes...For the rest of us, Bier's directorial tics are beginning to wear thin..."[9]
Claudia Puig of USA Today gave the film 3 stars out of 4 and said "The movie makes some missteps, most of them in pacing and length, and the story veers occasionally into melodrama, but it is saved by the powerful performance of Benicio del Toro", calling him "hypnotically watchable."[10] Joe Morgenstern of The Wall Street Journal wrote "Flawed as it is, the movie as a whole is a guilty pleasure." Morgenstern said "del Toro is a fearless actor" and said the film "would be fairly lifeless without him." Morgenstern wrote "Berry is skillful and affecting, occasionally ferocious, and subtle enough for two, in what is essentially a two-character drama."[11] Stephen Holden of The New York Times said the film "is the kind of awards-seeking Hollywood movie that bends over backward to prove that serious American movies can hold their own with the best films from overseas. They don’t, of course, except in very rare instances."[12] Kyle Smith of the New York Post gave the film 1½ stars out of 4 and said the film "was made to win awards, and I'm here to present it with one: the Cliché of the Year honors, otherwise known as the Hackney.[13]
Home media
It was released on DVD and HD DVD on March 4, 2008. A Blu-Ray version was released on March 24, 2009.
References
- ↑ "Things We Lost in the Fire - Box Office Data, DVD Sales, Movie News, Cast Information". The Numbers. Retrieved 2012-11-06.
- ↑ "Things We Lost in the Fire (2007)". Box Office Mojo. 2007-11-08. Retrieved 2012-11-06.
- ↑ Things We Lost in the Fire Soundtrack TheOST. Retrieved Dec. 23, 2013
- ↑ "Things We Lost in the Fire (2007) - Weekend Box Office". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2007-10-25.
- ↑ "Things We Lost in the Fire Movie Reviews, Pictures". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2008-12-29.
- ↑ "Things We Lost in the Fire Reviews, Ratings, Credits". Metacritic. Retrieved 2008-12-29.
- ↑ Josh Rosenblatt (2007-10-19). "Things We Lost in the Fire". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved 2007-10-27.
- ↑ Jack Mathews (2007-10-19). "Picking up pieces in 'Things We Lost in the Fire'". New York Daily News. Retrieved 2007-10-27.
- ↑ Glenn Whipp (2007-10-19). "'Fire' Draws its Heat from Del Toro". Los Angeles Daily News. Archived from the original on 2007-10-22. Retrieved 2007-10-27.
- ↑ Claudia Puig (2007-10-19). "Del Toro, Berry anchor 'Things We Lost'". USA Today. Retrieved 2007-10-27.
- ↑ Joe Morgenstern (2007-10-19). "Del Toro Rescues 'Things We Lost,' A Tale of Grief". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2007-10-27.
- ↑ Stephen Holden (2007-10-19). "Things We Lost in the Fire (2007)". The New York Times. Retrieved 2007-10-27.
- ↑ Kyle Smith (2007-10-19). "GOING DOWN IN FLAMES". New York Post. Retrieved 2007-10-27.