In the Bedroom

One of the films in competition at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival, In the Bedroom is the feature debut of actor Todd Field, who has previously been featured in films such as Walking and Talking and, more recently, Stanley Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut. A dark family drama, the film stars Tom Wilkinson and Sissy Spacek as Matt and Ruth, a town doctor and his schoolteacher wife who reside in a small New England fishing community. Frank (Nick Stahl) is their son, an ambitious sort who alternates his collegiate life with that of fishing, much like the men in his family previous to him. Over a summer, Frank begins seeing a local single mother (Marisa Tomei), who is much older than him and is greeted with disapproval on both ends. Ruth thinks he is above her, and her jealous, hotheaded ex-husband (William Mapother) resorts to violence to stop their affair, which in turn affects the lives of Frank's parents, who are suddenly shaken out their pleasant everyday existence. The film also features Karen Allen and Celia Weston in small supporting roles.