Things We Lost in the Fire

I was not expecting to like this movie. Halle Berry is good but Benicio Del Toro is excellent in this film about love, loss, friendship and grief. Playing a man fraught with agony over the death of his best childhood friend and dealing with a debilitating drug addition, Del Toro's performance makes this so-so movie a very strong film. The death of his friend, who was Berry's husband, is the focal point of the film...most everyone's struggles and problems stem from that event. Except Del Toro's...the death of his friend is just one of many things that have snowballed downhill in his life. If you are not enticed by the plot, watch it for Del Toro's performance. I'm sure you will not be disappointed.

Incendiary

Incendiary examines how a London terrorist attack forever destroys the life of a working-class mom. Michelle Williams, who was nominated for an Oscar for her supporting role in 2005’s Brokeback Mountain, plays a London mother and wife...the opening scenes capture her closeness with her 4-year-old son and the distance with her husband. She meets Jasper Black, played by Ewan McGregor and sees her chance to escape some of the dullness of her marriage. When her son and husband head to a local soccer match, she sees her chance to get together with Black. While she's with him, a terrorist bomb explodes at the soccer stadium and her son and husband are among the dead. She runs through the gambit of emotions...sadness, of course...relief, that her mundane marriage is over?...guilt, that she was betraying her husband at the very moment of his death?...hatred, for the terrorists responsible for the loss of her beloved son? She tries to find some understanding by befriending the suspected bomber’s son, but this just leaves her more disillusioned. Yes, Incendiary sounds like a bleak movie with little hope, and though at times it is, some optimism does manage to sneak in. Williams does a superb job of conveying all sorts of emotions. Her performance raises this movie from just another post-911 tale to a deeper, more powerful film on loss and redemption.