Actors shine in ‘Rabbit Hole’

“Rabbit Hole,” based on the play by David Lindsay-Abaire, observes a married couple’s grief as they try to overcome the death of their young son. It’s an often poignant film that never exploits its audience’s tear ducts.

Nicole Kidman plays Becca, and her husband Howie is played by Aaron Eckhart. These two actors have gotten a bad reputation in the past — Kidman for acting in box office failures and Eckhart for always being too snarky. Here they are nuanced and realistic.

As Kidman’s marriage begins to fall apart due to her inability to resume living normally, she sees a mysterious boy who fascinates her. It turns out that he is the person who (accidentally) killed her child. She meets him on a park bench and realizes that a person who never knew her son can also be filled with grief.

Despite the sadness of a child’s death, “Rabbit Hole” finds plenty of humor in the absurdities of life after loss. Few films have ever approached the subject as well.