Things We Lost in the Fire

Susanne Bier ist eine Meisterin psychologischer Dramen. Nach Open Hearts überschwemmten mein Herz erneut Emotionen, wenngleich nicht in dem Maße wie bei dem erwähnten rein dänischen Film, der mit einer Handkamera gedreht wurde. Schon allein durch die schauspielerische Besetzung kann nicht das Dänisch-Raue, sondern das wohl bekannte Hollywoodfeeling auf den Zuschauer einwirken. Trotzdem ist es Susanne Bier gelungen, ein meisterhaftes Drama in einem langsamen Tempo zu drehen, das jedoch keinesfalls langweilt. David Duchovny ist supersympathisch, auch wenn er nicht sonderlich viel Raum bekam, Hale Berry ist unerträglich ekelhaft, was wohl Absicht des Drehbuchs war, Benicio del Toro spielt überirdisch toll. Allen Schauspielern par excellence zum Trotz hätte ich eine Rückkehr zu Mads Mikelsen u. Co. begrüßt. (13.11.2008)

A Forster movie made by a woman. The acting potential is drowned in a lack of emphasis on direction and a script that goes basically from nowhere to nowhere. You'd want to enjoy a Del Toro this good more, but there's an element of unpredictability and a scene that will rip your balls off. Everything is a template, and that includes Halle Berry, who basically reprises her performance from Monsters Ball, except she doesn't take her clothes off. I'm not denying the solid existential subtext and the pressing theme of the reality of ordinary mortals, but there's already been so much of that, that this one is not enough on its own. (17.09.2018)

I don't have anything against dramas. I do enjoy them in fact. Unless they end tragically, they are often left open-ended, which reminds me of real life. I was perfectly satisfied with this film in this regard, but there was something else that bothered me. Despite all the tragic circumstances presented in the plot, the story of a junkie who managed to turn his life around struck me as almost fairy-tale-like at times. In terms of acting, I had no problem with anyone, but I can’t say the same about the writing. When good things start happening to people, I expect the film to turn into a horror movie in which extremely unpleasant things soon start happening, or a fairy tale. This was the latter option as far as I’m concerned. It wasn't a bad movie, but the filmmakers showed little sense of reality. / Lesson learned: If you ask too many questions, you’ll find out things you didn’t want to know. (31.07.2022)

Produced by Sam Mendes, this is a fairly well made drama with convincing acting from Benicio Del Toro, a reasonably tolerable Halle Berry, and a slightly average Duchovny. I really liked the "dedication" of Del Toro's character, where he was more of a supporting character in the first part, only to draw all the attention to himself afterwards, for which he rightfully deserves the fourth star. (19.04.2010)