Things We Lost in the Fire
Dir: Susanne Bier
2007
***
Susanne Bier's Things We Lost in the Fire is a slow-burner and without much of a conclusion. The mood is aptly somber given the subject matter (grief, drug use) but many of the character's actions are far fetched (over acted) and a little unconvincing. Halle Berry is, I'm afraid, on poor form, never really hitting any of the right notes. Indeed, pretty much everyone is miscast and/or gives an unimpressive performance. That is apart from Benicio Del Toro. Del Toro gives, in my opinion, one of the best performances of his career. He has perfected the art of less is more and delivers a suitably subtle and almost abstract performance as a recovering drug addict who learns of the death of his closest friend and the only person who didn't abandon him. The story has good intentions but is, in reality, a sickly sweet nonsensical version of what should have been a powerful drama (although to be fair it does have its moments). I've rated it highly because of Benicio Del Toro's awesome performance, it does make it worth watching for.