By the way, I’m not a fan of the genre of pathetic dramas that always strike at the lowest motives and feelings, but I watched this film in one breath. This film is not really a pathetic drama, at least not in the sense that the pathos is expressed and that it is the highlight of the film, but this is just one in a series of very drinkably told destinies of ordinary people.
Audrey (Halle Berry) and Brian (David Duchovny) are married, have been happily married for almost eleven years and have two wonderful children, daughter Harper and son Dorie. They live well and have almost everything because Brian is a recognized researcher and they do not lack money. Jerry Sunbourne (Benicio Del Toro) is Brian’s childhood friend, otherwise a heavy drug addict. Brian often visits him and helps him, both with conversation and money, which sometimes causes quarrels in his marriage because Audrey does not see that their friendship is mutual. One evening Brian goes to get ice cream for his family, he comes across a couple arguing. In an attempt to help the unhappy and beaten woman, something happens that will radically change the lives of the main characters.
The film is directed by renowned Danish director Susan Bier, who is known for the films In a Better World (2010), After the Wedding (2006) and many others. She is also known for being the only woman among directors to have been nominated twice for an Oscar in the “Best Foreign Language Film” category. This talented European makes interesting films with strong main protagonists. He always goes deep into the story, very easily interests the viewer and makes very emotional films with powerful messages. Such is this project, which has moments of retrospection in order to properly explain the plot and some events. American screenwriter Alan Leb is in charge of the great screenplay, a producer and screenwriter who distinguished himself by working on the films Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (2010), 21 (2008) and some only solid comedies, as if to see how his plays fit best.
Until this film, I did not see that Halle Berry knows how to act, and I watched a lot of her films plus the one for which she won an Oscar (Monsters Ball), but only in this film I was thrilled and besides a beautiful woman, I also saw an actress. Personally, I think that she certainly has more potential than she showed, but that she often chooses some more commercial and stupid projects that are of a transitory nature. Her role is such that at times you think “this woman doesn’t know what she wants”, and she plays such a character, a character who doesn’t know how to manage and take care of herself. Truly every honor, she did a great role. Benicio Del Toro is one of my favorites, a Puerto Rican with very expressive facial features. He has an Oscar for a supporting role in the acclaimed Traffic (2001), but his career is full of great roles, some of which are: 21 Grams, The Pledge, Che. He played the role of a drug addict very convincingly and empathetically, without any embellishment with all the stages. He once again showed that he is one of the stronger character actors of today.
Some will say that the film is boring and that it is a cliché story. They may be right for the clichés because the story is in a way seen many times so far, but all those stages that people who have lost someone or something go through are great in the film, we can identify and we can connect some with scenes from the ordinary of life. It’s not boring, it’s simple – life.
“Things We Lost in the Fire” will move you, draw you into its flow and possibly motivate you to help someone. In any case, the film will touch you because its story is extremely emotional and you can’t ignore it.
