In the Bedroom
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Todd Field
Tim Wilkinson
Sissy Spacek
Nick Stahl
Marisa Tomei
William Mapother
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
In the coastal village of Camden, Maine, Frank Fowler spends his last summer before college with his girl friend, the older and soon-to-be divorced Natalie Strout. Frank works part-time on a lobster boat and is frequently accompanied by his father Matt, the town doctor. When Frank takes Natalie's son Jason out on the boat one day, Matt comes along and teaches Jason about the art of trapping lobsters. A few days later, Matt and his wife, high school choir director Ruth, throw a picnic to help Frank celebrate the birthday of Natalie's other son Duncan. At the party, Natalie attempts to befriend Ruth, but is interrupted by the arrival of her estranged, abusive husband Richard, the son of the wealthy owner of the large, local fish-processing plant. Uneasy about Richard seeing the familiarity with which his sons treat Frank, Ruth asks Matt if they should intervene, but Matt feels there is no need to interfere. Later that week, Matt goes to the boat looking for Frank, only to recall that his son has a college interview. Arriving at home, Matt is amused and mildly displeased to learn that Frank skipped the interview to meet Natalie. That afternoon at Jason and Duncan's T-Ball game, when Ruth asks Frank about his interview, he lies, declaring that it went well. When Ruth obliquely expresses her concern about Frank dating Natalie, Frank brusquely assures her their relationship is only a passing summer affair. Later, Natalie arrives home to find that Richard has broken in, claiming to want to give the boys his own T-Ball trophy. When Richard declares his intention to move back in and repair their relationship, Natalie criticizes him for not being involved in their sons's lives and orders him to leave. An aspiring architect major, Frank begins to vacillate about going to college in the autumn, but when he suggests to Natalie that he might take off a year, she advises circumspection. That same night when Ruth returns home after a choir rehearsal for the Labor Day festival, she is distressed to find Matt treating Frank for a black eye and several cuts. Frank explains that Richard confronted him at Natalie's, resulting in a brief scuffle. Alarmed, Ruth wants to report the fight to the police, but Frank insists an investigation will only frighten Jason and Duncan. Ruth then angers Frank by demanding that he stop seeing Natalie. In private, however, Matt refuses to agree with Ruth's condemnation of Frank and Natalie's relationship. Several days later, Matt visits Frank at the pier to inquire why he has spent so little time at home. Suspicious that Ruth has sent Matt, Frank chafes at his parents' expectations and implies that he may continue working on the lobster boat and skip college. That night, however, Frank joins Matt for their usual poker game with a handful of neighbors, including Matt's best friend, diner owner Willis Grinnel. The players grumble when Matt hesitates over his hand, prompting one of the men, Carl, to recite dour poetry until the game continues. Late that night, Frank rebuffs Ruth's attempt to discuss Natalie. The next day, Frank is pleased to receive a phone notification of his college acceptance, but the call is interrupted by Jason, who pleads for Frank to come to Natalie's at once. Frank finds Natalie's home in shambles because of an angry outburst by Richard, but Natalie fears contacting the police will traumatize the boys. When Frank and Natalie see Richard returning to the house, Frank orders her upstairs then tells Richard he will summon the police, but Richard breaks in through the back door anyway. Upstairs, Natalie and the boys hear the men quarreling, but before Natalie can run downstairs, a gun is fired. Natalie finds Frank lying dead, shot in the face. Matt and Ruth are devastated by Frank's death and attend his funeral in a daze. Over the next few weeks, the Fowlers fall into private anguish, retreating from each other and their friends. After returning to work, Matt meets Willis at the diner and admits that he and Ruth are unsure about attending Richard's bail hearing. At the bail and probable cause hearing, Natalie's testimony contradicts her police statement, revealing that she did not witness the gun's discharge. Afterward, the district attorney explains to Matt and Ruth that Richard's wealthy family paid his bail and that his trial will probably not occur for twelve to eighteen months. Ruth is outraged when the lawyer admits that as there was no eyewitness to the killing, Richard will probably be charged only with manslaughter, which would result in a jail sentence of as few as five years. The following day, when Matt visits Natalie at the convenience store in which she works, she struggles to apologize for her damaging testimony. That weekend, Matt and Ruth accompany the Grinnels to their remote cabin upstate. Upon returning to Camden, Ruth resumes preparing the girls' choir for their Labor Day performance. While visiting Frank's grave Ruth meets a solicitious Father McCasslin, but she finds his offer of solace empty. Matt returns to his weekly poker game to find his friends strained and uneasy around him, until Carl's moving recital of an ode to youth breaks the tension. In town, Ruth is disturbed to see Richard walk by arm in arm with a woman, while Matt sails alone sadly. Later, Matt confronts the D.A., insisting that manslaughter is an unacceptable charge, but there is little the lawyer can do to mitigate the circumstances. Later, Matt follows Tim, a friend of Richard's, to a bar at the edge of town, desperately pleading without success for some information about Richard's actions on the day of the murder. When Natalie goes to see Ruth at the high school to express regret and offer her support, an embittered Ruth slaps her. Stopping for groceries on the way home, Ruth is disturbed to see Richard again. At home, Matt questions Ruth over her apparent anger, but when she scoffs at Matt for belatedly wanting to discuss their grief, a vicious argument ensues. Ruth accuses her husband of being too lenient with Frank and encouraging his affair with Natalie out his own frustrations, while Matt declares that Ruth's overbearing, controlling nature drove Frank to Natalie. After their outburst, Matt and Ruth are contrite over the harsh words exchanged, then Ruth reveals that she is unnerved by constantly seeing Richard free in town. A few days later, Matt meets Willis and the men discuss the distress and anxiety brought about by the overwhelming sense that Richard will never pay for his crime. Willis wonders if Matt and Ruth have considered leaving Camden, but Matt declares that it would not ease their suffering. On Labor Day, the townspeople gather to hear the girls' choir, while Matt slips away. Late that night, Matt intercepts Richard closing down the bar, where he now works, and at gunpoint forces him to drive to his apartment. There, the confused Richard tries to explain why he killed Frank, but Matt refuses to listen. Matt orders Richard to jump bail and leave town because he and Ruth cannot bear his presence in Camden. Uneasy about Matt's offer to pay for his flight out of state, Richard nonetheless follows his directive to drive out of town, and is relieved when they arrive at Willis' remote cabin. Once there however, Matt impulsively shoots and kills Richard, telling the startled Willis that he could not wait to kill Richard together, as they had discussed previously. Matt and Willis wrap up Richard's body and bury it deep within the forest, then return to Camden just before sunrise. Matt disposes of his dirty clothes, then wearily climbs into bed, where an anxious Ruth asks him, "Did you do it?"
Director
Todd Field
Cast
Tim Wilkinson
Sissy Spacek
Nick Stahl
Marisa Tomei
William Mapother
William Wise
Celia Weston
Karen Allen
Frank T. Wells
W. Clapham Murray
Justin Ashford
Terry A. Burgess
Jonathan Walsh
Diane E. Hamlin
Camden Munson
Christopher Adams
Henry Field
Deborah Derecktor
Harriet Dawkins
Bill Dawkins
Kevin Chapman
The Honorable Joseph Field
Harold Withee
David Blair
Elizabeth Mcclure
Alida P. Field
Andrea Walker
John Campanello
Rob Demkowicz
Veronica Cartwright
Daran Norris
Don Lewis
Doug Rich
Sara Armstrong
Elly Barksdale
Erin Barksdale
Adah Holman
Gwendolyn Gilchrist
Shauneen Grout
Jessie Lanoue
Alicia Laplant
Iris Leslie
Erica Towle-powers
Nichole Wimbiscus
Anna Winsor
Lisa Carlton
Rebecca Benner
Francis Mazzeo
Tyler Shane Smith-campbell
Brian Hagley
Sam Cousins
Jackie Hagley
Comenic Cuccinello Iii
Ronald Russell
Rachel Freeman
Dale Johnson
Daniel Hendricks
Parker Spear
Sam Johnson
Matthew Maxwell
Shyann Gauthier
Joshua Mills
Bethany Berry
Eric Rahkonen
Hope Berry
Natalie Russell
Chelsea Peasley
Misty Seekins
Daniel Baxter-leahy
Philip Spearing
Brandon Carleton
Mackenzie Tucker
Owen Thompson
Ben Staples
Ryan Ecker
Jared Mekin
Crew
Roy Allen
John S. Althoff Iii
Suzanne Andre Iii
Ben Apley
Mab Ashforth
Rod Basham
Clyde Beamer
Mark Beigelman P.c.
Woody Bell
Mark Berghash
Bill Bernstein
Casey Block
Jason Bowen
Julian Bratolyubov
Paul Bremer
Jonathan Broadstreet
Evans Brown
Francie Brown
Keith Bryant
Antonio Calvache
Dave Cambria
Richard Cardillo
Rachel Carey
Bob Carnes
Adam Carroll
Robert Clark
John Clifford
Erica Colegrove
Robert Colman
Dee Cooke
Gwendolyn Cooper
Kyle Cooper
Jordon Corngold
Keith Crofford
Stephen Dembitzer
Cathi Dicocco
Shanon Dilloway
Jeb Dubus
Maureen Duffy
Melissa Economy
Brant Fagan
Caitlin Feeley
Rob Festinger
Mary Feuer
Todd Field
Todd Field
Todd Field
John Finn
Jake Fleming
Bill Foyd
Peter Frampton
Rachelle Franhauser
Peter Frankfurt
Greg Gadbury
Laurie Anne Gardner
Joe Gaswirt
Michael A. Genne
Marcy Gensic
Kirsten Gilg
Lea Girardin
Mia Goldman
Terry Goodhue
Bruce Greenspan
Michael Hadley
Sean Hadley
Shawn Hamilton
Amanda Hannan
William Hansard Jr.
William Hansard
Bob Harper
Sally Harper
Terri Harper
Shannon Hart
Raymond Harvie
Scott Herring
Randi Hiller
Ted Hope
Chip Houghton
Joel Iwataki
Chris Jenkins
Ross Katz
Bobby Kerr
Dr. Walter Kerr
Okhee Kim
Victoria Lang
Graham Leader
Sig Libowitz
Deborah Lipman
Annie Lynch
Rodney Lynch
Allan Macdonald
Andrew Marcus
Cameron Matheson
Glenn Mathias
Peter Mcdonald
Elaine Mcfarland
Jennifer Mears
Per Melita
Martin Merritt
Tim Metivier
Zachary Miner
Mike Misner
Gregg Molander
Frank Montano
Belinda Monte
Leslie Morris
Jonathan Morse
Nathaniel Mundel
Matthew Nagle
Mark Narramore
Anne Nevin
Thomas Newman
Meghan Nichols
Chris Nickerson
Anthony D. Norton
Wilder Oaks
Joshua Outerbridge
Tanoa Parks
Susan Parsons
Thomas Pasatieri
Tim Payson
John Penotti
Brian Pitts
Ned Price
Serena Rathbun
Christopher Regan
Shane Reilly
Frank Reynolds
Brian Ricci
Will Riley
Aida Rodgers
John Roesch, Warner Hollywood
Mike Rudolph
Virginia Saenz Mccarthy
Sebastian Salomo
Paula Schmit
Mark Schoen
Shana Schoepke
Sandy Shapiro
Penn Sicre
Amanda Slater
George Smith
Kathryn Smith
Tyris Smith
Caleb Snyder
Dan Stillman
Charles Stone Jr.
Ivan Stone
Janice Stone
William Suhr
Tiffany Thomas
Melinka Thompson-godoy
Edward Tise
Lisa Varetakis
Leon Vitali
Eleda Wacker
Kenneth Weinberg
Evanne Weirich
Soso R. Whaley
T. Michael Wickersham
Tim Williams
Greg Wilmer
Robin Wimbiscus
Eric Yellin
Heidi Zellner, West Coast Editorial
Julia Ziegler-haynes
Julia Ziegler-haynes
Film Details
Technical Specs
Award Nominations
Best Actor
Best Actress
Best Adapted Screenplay
Best Picture
Best Supporting Actress
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
In the opening cast credits of this film, Sissy Spacek receives top billing, while in the closing cast credits, Tom Wilkinson receives top billing. The film's title refers to the inner cage within a lobster trap, which is referred to as "the bedroom" and is intended to hold only two lobsters. When there are more than two lobsters, it is said that there is "trouble in the bedroom." The picture marked the directing debut of actor Todd Field, who also co-wrote the screenplay from a short story by Andre Dubus. Dubus died a year before production began, and Field dedicated the film to him in an onscreen credit. According to an November 18, 2001 New York Times article, Field first became interested in Dubus' writing in 1992 while a directing fellow at AFI's Conservatory. The article also reported that when Field first attempted to work on Dubus' short story "Killings" in 1997, he learned that the story had already been optioned by producer Graham Leader and was being adapted by Robert Festinger. Leader and Festinger then encouraged Field to write his own adaptation of the story, and helped him to obtain financing for the production.
The end credits include acknowledgments for the books Selected Stories by Andre Dubus and The Wyeths by N.C. Wyeth, both of which appear in the film; and the Boston Redsox Radio Simulcast, Courtesy of Major League Baseball Properties, Inc. and the television program The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn, both of which are heard in the picture.
The end credits also list acknowledgments for the cities of Rockland and Camden, ME, as well as for numerous local establishments that assisted with the production. In the Bedroom was shot on location in Maine's Knox and Lincoln Counties. Field also shot some of the picture at his own family cabin near Rockland, and used his son's T-Ball team members as extras, according to the November 18, 2001 New York Times article.
Spacek and Wilkinson were awarded a joint Special Jury Prize for acting at the Sundance Film Festival, where In the Bedroom had its premiere. According to a January 25, 2001 Hollywood Reporter article, several other companies besides Miramax, such as Fox Searchlight and Artisan Entertainment, bid on the domestic distribution rights to the film after its acclaimed premiere.
Upon its limited release in November 2001, the picture garnered further awards, including the Best Film Prize from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association. Spacek and Wilkinson were named Best Actress and Best Actor by the New York Film Critics Circle. Spacek was also selected by AFI as Actor of the Year-Female-Movies. In the Bedroom was nominated by AFI in the following categories: Movie of the Year, Actor of the Year-Male-Movies (Wilkinson), Director of the Year (Field) and Screenwriter of the Year (Festinger and Field). The film received Golden Globe nominations for Best Picture, Best Actress for Spacek and Best Supporting Actress for Marisa Tomei. The film received the following Academy Award Nominations: Best Picture, Best Screenplay, Best Actor, Tom Wilkinson, Best Actress, Spacek and Best Supporting Actress, Tomei.
Miscellaneous Notes
Co-winner of the 2002 Artios Award for Feature Film - Independent by the Casting Society of America (CSA).
Nominated for three 2001 Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards, including Best Actor (Tom Wilkinson), Best Actress (Sissy Spacek) and Best Ensemble Cast.
Voted one of the 10 best films of 2001 by the American Film Institute (AFI).
Winner of the 2001 award for Best Actress (Sissy Spacek) from the Broadcast Film Critics Association.
Winner of the 2001 award for Most Promising Director from the Chicago Film Critics Association.
Winner of the award for Actor of the Year - Female (Sissy Spacek) at the 2001 American Film Institute (AFI) Awards. Nominated for a further four awards, including Movie of the Year, Actor of the Year - Male (Tom Wilkinson), Director of the Year and Screenwriter of the Year.
Winner of the Special Jury Prize for Outstanding Performance - Drama (Tom Wilkinson and Sissy Spacek) at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival.
Winner of three 2001 awards, including Best First Film, Best Actor (Tom Wilkinson) and Best Actress (Sissy Spacek), from the New York Film Critics Circle.
Winner of three 2001 Golden Satellite Awards, including Best Picture - Drama, Best Actress - Drama (Sissy Spacek) and Best Adapted Screenplay, from the International Press Academy.
Winner of two 2001 awards, including Best Director and Best Screenplay, from the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures.
Winner of two 2001 awards, including Best Film and Best Actress (Sissy Spacek), from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association.
Expanded Release in United States December 25, 2001
Released in United States 2001
Released in United States Fall November 23, 2001
Released in United States January 2001
Released in United States November 2001
Released in United States October 2001
Released in United States on Video August 13, 2002
Wide Release in United States January 11, 2002
Shown at Chicago International Film Festival (in competition) October 4-18, 2001.
Shown at London Film Festival (Evening Standard Film on the Square) November 7-22, 2001.
Shown at Montreal World Film Festival August 23 - September 3, 2001.
Shown at the IFP Market/(IFFM) in New York City September 30 - October 5, 2001.
Feature directorial debut for actor and photographer Todd Field.
Miramax acquired North American distribution rights at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival for a reported $1.5 million.
Began shooting June 22, 2000.
Completed shooting July 6, 2000.
Actor William Mapother is the cousin of Tom Cruise.
Released in United States 2001 (Shown at Montreal World Film Festival August 23 - September 3, 2001.)
Released in United States 2001 (Shown at the IFP Market/(IFFM) in New York City September 30 - October 5, 2001.)
Released in United States January 2001 (Shown at Sundance Film Festival (Dramatic Competition) in Park City, Utah January 18-28, 2001.)
Wide Release in United States January 11, 2002
Released in United States on Video August 13, 2002
Released in United States October 2001 (Shown at Chicago International Film Festival (in competition) October 4-18, 2001.)
Released in United States November 2001 (Shown at AFI Fest 2001: The American Film Institute Los Angeles International Film Festival (International Competition) November 1-11, 2001.)
Released in United States November 2001 (Shown at London Film Festival (Evening Standard Film on the Square) November 7-22, 2001.)
Released in United States Fall November 23, 2001
Expanded Release in United States December 25, 2001
