Things we found in the fire...

THINGS WE LOST IN THE FIRE
***
One man struggles with an addiction. One woman struggles with reality. They both are in desperate need of somesort of relief. The film "Things We Lost in the Fire" tells the story of these two wayward people. Halle Berry stars as Audrey Burke, a woman who has recently lost her husband, the love of her life, and the father of her two children. The violent death of her husband portrayed by David Duchovny also adversely affects Benicio Del Toro's character Jerry Sunborne, a heroin addict who has no one to lean on now that his best friend has died. During his lifetime Duchovny's character had tried to convince his wife that Sunborne is a good man who got a bad break. Berry's character on the other hand believes her husband's childhood friend is a loser who is using her husband to get another fix. When Duchovny's character is brutally murdered, his wife slowly comes to the realization that Sunborne is the only man she could really lean on as the difficulties of raising two children on her own become too much to bear. Sunborne on the other hand needs a reason to remain sober. Yet what they don't know is that they still need time to acclimate to each other and life with out their closest companion. Berry and Del Toro both turn in sublime performances, the rest of the cast however are lost in the background. Unfortunately Director Susanne Bier fails to captivate her audience, yet she does earn an E for effort because she motivates her two stars and they do not let her down. In addition to that Duchovny's character does not seem to have any personality flaws, and that is why it is difficult to relate to him. The way he meets his death is also quite unbelievable, although not improbable. Nonetheless the film is quite endearing which is why it will have staying power.