INDEPENDENT FILM FOR INDEPENDENT MINDS

It has been eight months since Becca (Nicole Kidman) and Howie (Aaron Eckhart) lost their four-year old son, Danny, in a traffic accident. His dog ran into the street and, without looking, Danny followed. He was struck by a car driven by teenager Jason (Miles Teller). For Becca and Howie, the wound has scabbed over but not healed, and the unexpected pregnancy of Becca's sister, Izzy (Tammy Blanchard), threatens to exacerbate the injury. Becca lives in a frosty cocoon of denial. Howie believes she is trying to erase Danny from their lives, much as she erased a video of him from Howie's smart phone. She removes Danny's clothing from the house. She gives Danny's dog to her mother. She stops attending a support group. She calls God sadistic and sneers at those who turn to religion for comfort. She will not have sex or consider the possibility of another child. And she begins stalking Jason, seeking some kind of connection that even she doesn't understand. For his part, Howie appears to have adjusted, at least to a degree. He has passed through more stages of grief than his wife, but he still suffers from bouts of anger and depression. As the gulf between Becca and Howie grows, he gravitates toward fellow support group member Gaby (Sandra Oh), whose husband has recently left her. When he tells her that he loves his wife, we wonder if he means the Becca of old or the Becca of now.