Rabbit Hole

I was so happy to discover that director John Cameron Mitchell (Maker of Hedwig and the Angry Inch and Shortbus) had made another film that I wasted no time in locating it and watching it alone.  John Cameron Mitchell has this rather gifted ability to reveal each layer of a character in four dimensions. The fourth being the part of the character than transcends the film and directly relates to a memory you had as a  child or a feeling you didn't think anyone else was capable of having.  Rabbit Hole is a story about one couples struggle to come to terms with the loss of their four year old son. Becca (Nicole Kidman) finds little solace in her family and husband Howie (Aaron Eckhart). Her only comfort is found in troubled high school kid Jason who was involved in her son accident. His love of illustrating comic books opens a small portal into a life with less emotional pain. "Somewhere out their I'm having a really good time".

A John Cameron Mitchell film feels like someone cracking open your chest to squeeze your heart back into life because even though you didn't know it you were in a coma. I'm reminded of important memories that had somehow been forgotten due to time and distraction and the melancholy joy that is felt when they are regained leaves me rejuvenated and complete. If I could script my own life like a John Cameron Mitchell film I am almost certain that I would reach an enlightenment like no other. The lessons I learn are so important but like the image of a loved one that has passed away fades so do my memories. But then, there in the bottom of a bag or at the back of a wardrobe is that memory and for a moment you remember what its like to be a whole person.

http://rabbitholefilm.com/main.html#/about/

Tomorrow is Christmas Day and thoughts of the approaching new year are in my mind. Maybe this year will be my chance to have John agree to direct my life into a beautiful enlightening moment. I think that it wont take too much of a stretch of my imagination to make it happen.

Photo credit: JoJo Whilden