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Things We Lost in the Fire (film)

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Things We Lost in the Fire
Theatrical release poster.
Directed bySusanne Bier
Written byAllan Loeb
Produced bySam Mendes
Sam Mercer
StarringHalle Berry
Benicio del Toro
David Duchovny
Omar Benson Miller
Alison Lohman
John Carroll Lynch
CinematographyTom Stern
Edited byPernille Bech Christensen
Bruce Cannon
Music byJohan Söderqvist
Production
companies
Distributed byParamount Pictures
Release date
  • October 19, 2007 (2007-10-19)
Running time
118 minutes
CountriesUnited States
United Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Budget$16 million[1]
Box office$8.5 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 eleven years; they have a ten-year-old daughter named Harper (Alexis Llewellyn) and a six-year-old son named Dory (Micah Berry). Jerry Sunborne (Benicio del Toro) is a heroin addict who has been Brian's close childhood friend for many years.

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; something Brian had tried to do for a few 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 as much she did her father, is angry that he is leaving. But after he leaves her a heartfelt note she accepts that he is going.

Jerry is still struggling with his addiction but seems to be well on his way to recovery. He leaves red flowers on Audrey's doorstep with a note that reads "Accept the good," a phrase which Jerry himself had told Brian, and that Brian had subsequently said to Audrey many times.

Cast

Music

The soundtrack to Things We Lost in the Fire was released on October 30, 2007.

No.TitleArtistLength
1."Opening Montage"Gustavo Santaolalla & Johan Söderqvist1:44
2."Audrey with Flowers"Gustavo Santaolalla & Johan Söderqvist0:28
3."Funeral Dinner"Gustavo Santaolalla & Johan Söderqvist1:03
4."Jerry's Apartment"Gustavo Santaolalla & Johan Söderqvist0:33
5."Audrey in Bed"Gustavo Santaolalla & Johan Söderqvist0:47
6."The Funeral"Gustavo Santaolalla & Johan Söderqvist1:23
7."Jerry by Window"Gustavo Santaolalla & Johan Söderqvist0:47
8."Brian Rubs Ear"Gustavo Santaolalla & Johan Söderqvist0:37
9."Brian Dies"Gustavo Santaolalla & Johan Söderqvist0:45
10."After the Shooting"Gustavo Santaolalla & Johan Söderqvist2:38
11."Audrey's Upset"Gustavo Santaolalla & Johan Söderqvist1:27
12."Audrey Can't Sleep"Gustavo Santaolalla & Johan Söderqvist0:50
13."Jerry Rubs Ear"Gustavo Santaolalla & Johan Söderqvist0:42
14."Audrey and Jerry in the Study"Gustavo Santaolalla & Johan Söderqvist1:18
15."Audrey Brings Clothes"Gustavo Santaolalla & Johan Söderqvist0:29
16."Almost a Kiss"Gustavo Santaolalla & Johan Söderqvist0:59
17."Jerry Takes Test"Gustavo Santaolalla & Johan Söderqvist0:26
18."Audrey Throws Out Jerry"Gustavo Santaolalla & Johan Söderqvist0:45
19."Harper on Sofa"Gustavo Santaolalla & Johan Söderqvist0:52
20."Will He Die Now?"Gustavo Santaolalla & Johan Söderqvist0:48
21."Drug Alley"Gustavo Santaolalla & Johan Söderqvist1:59
22."Jerry and Neal"Gustavo Santaolalla & Johan Söderqvist1:56
23."Cold Turkey 1"Gustavo Santaolalla & Johan Söderqvist0:51
24."Cold Turkey 2"Gustavo Santaolalla & Johan Söderqvist0:53
25."The Dinner"Gustavo Santaolalla & Johan Söderqvist3:38
26."Audrey Breaks Down"Gustavo Santaolalla & Johan Söderqvist2:36
27."Do They Glow?"Gustavo Santaolalla & Johan Söderqvist1:18
28."The Cemetery"Gustavo Santaolalla & Johan Söderqvist1:19
29."Audrey Opens the Letter"Gustavo Santaolalla & Johan Söderqvist0:27
30."End Credits"Gustavo Santaolalla & Johan Söderqvist2:51
Total length:37:09[3]

Reception

Box office

Things We Lost in the Fire grossed $3.2 million, and $5.2 million in other territories, for a worldwide gross of $8.5 million.[4]

In the United States, the film finished 11th in its opening weekend with $1.5 million opening weekend.[4]

Critical reception

On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 65% based on 128 reviews, with an average rating of 6.48/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Things We Lost in the Fire is a well-acted, beautifully filmed reflection on love, loss, addiction and recovery from life's obstacles."[5] On Metacritic, the film had an average score of 63 out of 100, based on 30 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[6]

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

  1. ^ "Things We Lost in the Fire - Box Office Data, DVD Sales, Movie News, Cast Information". The Numbers. Retrieved 2012-11-06.
  2. ^ "Things We Lost in the Fire (2007)". Box Office Mojo. 2007-11-08. Retrieved 2012-11-06.
  3. ^ Things We Lost in the Fire Soundtrack TheOST. Retrieved Dec. 23, 2013
  4. ^ a b "Things We Lost in the Fire (2007) - Weekend Box Office". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2007-10-25.
  5. ^ "Things We Lost in the Fire Movie Reviews, Pictures". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2008-12-29.
  6. ^ "Things We Lost in the Fire Reviews, Ratings, Credits". Metacritic. Retrieved 2008-12-29.
  7. ^ Josh Rosenblatt (2007-10-19). "Things We Lost in the Fire". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved 2007-10-27.
  8. ^ Jack Mathews (2007-10-19). "Picking up pieces in 'Things We Lost in the Fire'". New York Daily News. Retrieved 2007-10-27.
  9. ^ 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.
  10. ^ Claudia Puig (2007-10-19). "Del Toro, Berry anchor 'Things We Lost'". USA Today. Retrieved 2007-10-27.
  11. ^ Joe Morgenstern (2007-10-19). "Del Toro Rescues 'Things We Lost,' A Tale of Grief". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2007-10-27.
  12. ^ Stephen Holden (2007-10-19). "Things We Lost in the Fire (2007)". The New York Times. Retrieved 2007-10-27.
  13. ^ Kyle Smith (2007-10-19). "GOING DOWN IN FLAMES". New York Post. Retrieved 2007-10-27.
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