Nicole Kidman in Rabbit Hole

Indulge me a moment for an editorial note? I’d like to remind our readers that we don’t neglect or postpone featuring movies like Rabbit Hole because we’re not interested. We are. But without clips, without trailers, without even a poster, what are we to say? “Sounds possibly promising”? Don’t I already cover enough dead-end casting red-herrings without letting rumors and hearsay about unseen movies infiltrate the items I post?

Ordinarily, the only time I’ll try to generate personally hopeful promotion for a movie I haven’t seen is when I know and admire the source material or screenplay. (The Town has been one of those unknowable long-shots for me this year, and I’m feeling cautiously optimistic that I’m out on a limb that won’t snap or fall flat in a couple of days. In fact, as of now, it’s prospects are looking sturdier than ever.) With its Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award honors, Rabbit Hole easily qualifies under those criteria.

We get reader requests to cover individual movies we know very little about. But we usually can’t write anything meaningful about a visual art form until we have something to see. When we get evidence, when we read reviews, when we finally see something with our own eyes — then we can begin to feel more confident. When the rumors turn into something tangible, then we feel justified trying to stir up some genuine interest.

For most of the pre-season, all we have to go on are names — specifically, name-brand talents. And we evaluate those names on the basis of recent performance. It’s not even about who won an Oscar 5 or 10 years ago. It’s about “what have you done for me lately,” right? A string of disappointments can gradually cool off our most heated passions for favorite actors or directors. Then they have to win us back. And some never do.

I want Nicole Kidman to win me back, and it looks like Rabbit Hole might be the kind of role to ensure she does it. How lucky would we be if every movie we see for the rest of year had scenes as well-written and performed with such self-assured nuance as this clip here? (thanks to Mildred for bringing this gem to our attention).

A powerful clip like this eliminates the need to rely on the r√©sum√©s of directors and stars (though in this case, those r√©sum√©s and pedigrees are rock solid.) What’s on screen speaks for itself, and from this brief peek Rabbit Hole looks like ripe and potent stuff.

This time of year there’s a distinct division of labor between Sasha’s front-and-center expertise racking up the big pictures (and the Big Picture), and me setting up the assists, being trusted to handle knocking off spares in the frame or circling around the back nine to pick up lost balls. Yes, we’re heavily focused on coverage of the consensus Top 10s. But I’d be derelict in my duties if I didn’t give the same care and attention to less prominent potential winners like The Town and Rabbit Hole too.

Will the ultimate fortunes of either of these films add up to any awards? Too soon to say. But at least we can feel comfortable that we haven’t forgotten to prop them on display the main page for your thoughtful consideration.