THINGS WE LOST IN THE FIRE

Sensitivity
Few films released last year have the quiet sensitivity in writing (Allan Loeb), direction (Susanne Bier), cinematography (Tom Stern), and acting (Berry, Del Toro, Duchovny) as this gem of a movie. Taking on a subject of grief after a sudden traumatic death and the way it affects family and friends would seem like a tedious subject for a two hour film, but THINGS WE LOST IN THE FIRE proves again that care and devotion in telling a difficult story with restraint and tenderness is far more compelling that many of the 'big' movies that fill the theaters with more superficial topics.

Brian Burke (David Duchovny) is a generously warm man to his beautiful wife Audrey (Halle Berry), their son Dory (Micah Berry), and daughter
Harper (Alexis Llewellyn) as well as to his longtime, childhood friend Jerry Sunborne (Benecio Del Toro) who is constantly struggling with an addiction to heroin. Brian is suddenly dead as the film opens and the friends are gathered at the Burke home for...

What was lost in the fire was an opportunity for a better film.
I really wanted to like this film as I'm a huge fan of Halle Berry and the storyline just looked so compelling on paper. However, the delivery of this story just falls flat.

The story is told in present tense, but cleverly spliced in flashbacks fill in the background. Halle plays Audrey Bruke, a mother of two, whose husband Brian, played by "X Files" David Duchovny, is killed (I won't spoil the story by stating how, but we are told he's killed early on). We learn via the flashbacks that his childhood friend, Jerry, very well played by Del Toro, with whom he is still close is now a heroin addict and that Brian is the only friend he has left checks on him regularly and buys him food much to Audrey irritation as she worries about him going to see Jerry in the very bad neighborhood in which he lives.

Perhaps as a way of hanging onto her dead husband's memory or simply out of a selfish need for company, Audrey invites Jerry to "recover" from his addiction at her...

"What's Important in This Life..."
There are many things that happen in `Things We Lost in the Fire;' so many that it has an immediate impact that keeps a flow through the whole film. While most of the movie contains dialogue that makes the movie move so slowly, it saves itself from becoming a trivial soap opera by making every movement deliberate and absorbing.

Brian (David Duchovny) and Audrey (Halle Berry) Burke start the deliberations as a loving, mixed racial couple. He's a successful businessman, and they have two lively and likable children, Harper (10) and Dory (6), who look up to dad, even though he's a bit rough when teaching the timid Dori how to swim. Not a perfect family, but love and prosperity pervade their home. Instantly, we make a connection when Brian tells Dory she is like a fluroscent light, glowing from within.

Creating friction is Brian's best friend from childhood, Jerry Sunborne (Benedicio Del Toro) who is a heroin addict on the mend and attending Narcotics Anonymous...

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