FemaleFirst.co.uk: DVD: Things We Lost In The Fire [DVD] [2007]

Things We Lost In The Fire [DVD] [2007]
enlarge	Director: Susanne Bier Actors: Benicio Del Toro, Halle Berry, David Duchovny, John Carroll Lynch, Alison Lohman Studio: Paramount Home Entertainment Category: DVD List Price: ~~£19.99~~ Buy New: £1.99 as of 21/11/2009 07:33 GMT details You Save: £18.00 (90%) New (14) Used (5) from £1.45 Seller: b68solutions Rating: 3 reviews Sales Rank: 14482 Format: PAL Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over Region: 2 Number Of Discs: 1 Running Time: 113 Minutes Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2 Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6 EAN: 5051188153731 ASIN: B0014E916U Theatrical Release Date: 2007 Release Date: July 14, 2008 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days


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Editorial Reviews: Amazon.co.uk Review "Dad, what does 'fluorescent' mean?" asks a winsome young Dory of his doting dad, played by David Duchovny. Pondering a moment, dad answers, "It means, 'lit from within." "So Dad, am I fluorescent?'" "Yes, Dory, you are." The touching, brief moment telegraphs the bond Duchovny's character, Brian, has with his family, including wife Audrey (Halle Berry) and daughter Harper (Alexis Llewellyn), and the love that radiates through and around him. When tragedy strikes early in the film, Berry and the children must acknowledge, and somehow heal, the hole left in their lives. And in that human effort, so little explored in American films, iThings We Lost in the Fire/i holds a luminous candle to the hope left in life--sometimes when all that seems to be left is hope. Directed by the talented Danish director Susanne Bier (iBrothers/i), iFire/i is allowed to unfold almost in real time as grief washes over the family, and Berry gives one of her most memorable performances, captured mostly in tiny details that will hit the viewer in the soul.p Her eyes, the carriage of her head, her slim shoulders appearing to buckle under the weight of her sorrow--Berry is well directed here and shows that her performance in iMonster's Ball/i was no fluke. As she begins to connect with Brian's childhood friend Jerry (Benicio Del Toro), a new family web is woven--irregular, to be sure, but strong and comforting. Other affecting performances are given by the talented character actor John Carroll Lynch, as Brian's friend and neighbour, and by the heartbreaking Llewellyn, an actress of stunning range for a child so young. iThings We Lost in the Fire/i holds a torch in the deepest darkness, and lets souls connect--a rare gift indeed. --iA.T. Hurley/i

Customer Reviews: better than the previous review! April 22, 2009 bunny 5 out of 7 found this review helpful i enjoyed the film - great acting both by B. del Torro and Halle Berry (think "monsters ball"). The two main themes of the film are loss and drug addiction or rather fighting addiction. It's a slow film, not a lot of action. Personally i liked the cinematography. Many scenes are shot so very close up, that only an eye and a part of the face is visible -which is a great way of conveying the loss of perspective and confusion that sudden loss (and drugs...) bring about. My main reason for writing here was, that i really think it deserves a better review than what was written before! if you're in the mood for romantic comedy, stay away by all means! if you want a thoughtful, well-acted movie, it makes for a nice evening. Something missing May 30, 2009 OEJ (England) 13 out of 18 found this review helpful Now, I really like films like this. Good old-fashioned drama, with great actors portraying real-life kind of events. No CGI, no explosions, just a film of the kind they seemed to stop making a long time ago. And yet.... br / br /It starts intriguingly enough, in such a way that I had that 'what's going on?' question running through my mind over and over, which is what I like films to do. Basically the early stages of the film flick backwards and forwards in time spanning the period not long before and shortly after Brian (David Duchovny) dies. We see, in a kind of flashback style, brief snippets of his domestic life as a husband and father, which have a greater relevance as the film progresses. The widow Audrey (Halle Berry) is the emotional centre of the story, alongside her late husband's best friend Jerry (Benicio Del Toro) who she never cared for much prior to her husband's death but invites him to the funeral and they very slowly develop a relationship of sorts but definitely not the kind you would expect, thankfully. Support for the pair comes mainly from the two children Harper and Dory, the latter played by Micah Berry but of no relation in reality to the A-list actress. br / br /This film reminded me of one of my all-time favourites, Ordinary People, in that it centres on a small group trying to cope with the loss of one of their family, and filmed almost entirely within the home. Sadly, Things We Lost in the Fire promises to deliver similar cinematic entertainment in terms of tragedy, loss, heartache and so on but never quite delivers. The reasons are hard to pinpoint. One suggestion that keeps returning to my conscience is that Audrey's feelings for her husband both before and after his death are ever so slightly confusing, and although it could be said that she shows little raw emotion in her grief because she's still in shock, this slight ambiguity is never satisfactorily resolved, and leaves a small question mark hanging in the air. This is not to doubt Halle Berry's performance, because she's excellent and is only doing what the writer and director instruct her to do. Even then, she's better than that, so I can only conclude that the writing of her actions and reactions wasn't quite what I would have expected. br / br /But then we have Del Toro, who despite looking oddly like Brad Pitt's older brother at times nevertheless steals the show as a recovering heroin addict. I can't remember this guy not being the best actor in any film he's been in, he really is one of the outstanding actors around today. His character, played by many others, could have been repellent, uninteresting, overly sexual or all three - but he manages to be none of these things and be the more magnetic for being so. I'm sure that it was a difficult part to play but he nails it. br / br /Mention too should go to the two children (aged 6 and 10) who have prominent and some might say pivotal roles but deliver the goods very professionally. But again, the seeming ease with which they grow fond of Jerry against a backdrop of having just lost their father was, well, slightly confusing. In fact, I was half-expecting to discover that the late Brian had some dark secrets that would justify the relatively cool response to his death by his wife and children, but nothing emerged. br / br /In the end it was fine acting by all concerned, good camerawork, direction and editing but while I was ready and willing to have my heart-strings pulled every which way, it just didn't happen. Instead it was just highly impressive, worth seeing more than once actually, but not as moving as I had hoped early on. Ordinary People, by comparison, moved me to tears. br / br /So maybe they don't make 'em like they used to after all. This was close though. br / Heartfelt February 8, 2009 TheGerbilTamer (London) 6 out of 7 found this review helpful This film tells the story of Audrey and Brian, a happily married couple with two children who enjoy an affluent lifestyle. Brian's childhood friend Jerry is a recovering heroin addict and the friendship seems to strengthen as Brian helps Jerry along the way. Tragedy strikes one night when Brian fatefully intervenes in a domestic altercation and Audrey struggles to cope with the loss, moving Jerry into their empty and refurbished garage to their mutual benefit. br / br /The all-star cast perform their roles really well and credit must go to Berry and Del Toro who both portray 'anguish' with aplomb. The children are also notable for their mature and defined performances. Generally though, I did find this film a little over-wrought and in many ways it could have been cut by 20 minutes or so to improve the pace. Saying that, it's a good study of loss, despair, anguish and dependence and eventually acceptance.

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