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(Screen captures are lightly compressed with lossy JPEG thus are meant as a general representation of the content and do not fully reveal the capabilities of the Blu-ray format)
The Film
[Rating:4.5/5]
Having never had or suffered through the death of any children, I can’t claim to know what it feels, even if I have suffered the loss of a loved one. Writer David Lindsay-Abaire’s screenplay, Rabbit Hole, based on his play, deals with the very subject of dealing with the death of a child, and the quiet, moving drama earned Nicole Kidman an Oscar nomination for Best Actress.
The lives of happily married couple Becca (Kidman; The Hours) and Howie (Aaron Eckhart; Thank You for Smoking) are thrown into a tailspin after their young son Danny is killed by a car. Becca, once a working woman, is now a stay-at-home mother with no one to care for, taking out her anger on everyone around her. As their lives continue to go in separate directions, Becca strikes up an odd friendship with the young high school senior and comic book writer (Miles Teller) who is responsible for killing the couple’s son, while Howie finds comfort with a woman (Sandra Oh) from their support group. Can the couple recover from the death of their beloved son when they are so hopelessly slipping away from each other? Heart wrenching, poignant, and emotionally draining, Rabbit Hole is one of the greatest, truest, most touching films on the human experience to hit Blu-ray this year.
Video Quality
[Rating:4.5/5]
Rabbit Hole was captured in high definition on a Red One camera and it arrives in a 1080p/24 AVC/MPEG-4 encodement from Lionsgate. The Red One is quickly becoming one of my favorite HD cameras for filmmaking. I can usually pick it out when I watch a film on Blu-ray that was captured using it, but it always has a film-like look to it. What little video noise there is isn’t harsh at all and looks more like a thin veneer of film grain. All of that applies to this wonderful transfer of Rabbit Hole, which is clean, detailed, shows great flesh tones and strong shadow details.
Audio Quality
[Rating:4/5]
Lionsgate always makes some unusual choices for 7.1 mixes, and that’s the case for this dialogue-driven drama, which comes with a lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 soundtrack. It sounds good, with clean dialogue, a good amount of dynamic range, and smooth score, well balanced into the mix, but there isn’t much going on in the surround and back channels.
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:2/5]
There aren’t a lot of supplements on here, unfortunately, outside of the audio commentary and a few deleted scenes.
The supplements provided with this release are:
- Filmmaker’s Commentary
- Deleted Scenes (1.78:1; 1080p/24)
- Theatrical Trailer (1.85:1; 1080p/24; Dolby Digital 5.1)
The Definitive Word
Overall:
[Rating:4/5]
Rabbit Hole is a perfect drama with top performances from Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart. If this quiet, human story doesn’t hit you deep inside, then you must be made of stone. It looks beautiful and strikes a nerve. Highly recommended.
Additional Screen Captures
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BestBuy.com:
Purchase Rabbit Hole on Blu-ray at CD Universe
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Overall
[Rating:4/5]
The Film
[Rating:4.5/5]
Video Quality
[Rating:4.5/5]
Audio Quality
[Rating:4/5]
Supplemental Materials
[Rating:2/5]