Plot: Becca and Howie are still dealing emotionally with the accidental death of Danny, their four year old son and only offspring, eight months after the fact. Danny died by being run over when he ran out onto the street chasing after his dog. Becca and Howie are finding that they need different mechanisms to cope. They have been attending a support group, Becca who is openly hostile toward the group, not wanting to turn out like Gabby and Kevin who have been attending the sessions for eight years, or like the couple that relates everything about their experience to their religious beliefs. Becca seems to be erasing anything physical that reminds her of Danny, including wanting to move, while Howie wants those physical touchstones, even wanting the dog back which they got rid of after the accident but which he still loves and knows Danny loved. Outwardly, Howie wants their life to return to some normalcy, including resuming a sexual relationship, while Becca seems to be having more difficulties doing so as she will not even reach out to one friend she knows wants to provide support but doesn't know how to make that first step. It may not help Becca's psyche that her irresponsible unmarried sister Izzy is having an unplanned baby. And Becca cannot handle it whenever her and Izzy's mother Nat tries to provide comfort, especially relating stories about the heroin overdose death of Becca and Izzy's brother Arthur eleven years ago. Despite loving each other, Becca and Howie's marriage may not be able to to survive these differences. The way they individually cope may change when each experiences something that they don't tell the other. For Howie, it's learning something about Gabby and Kevin. And for Becca, it's spotting Jason, the high schooler who was the driver of the car that hit Danny.
Alternative Plot: Eight months after the accidental death of their 4-year-old son, Howie (Aaron Eckhart) and Becca (Nicole Kidman) are trying to overcome their grief. He wants to hold on to everything that reminds him of Danny, while she would rather sell their home and make a fresh start. Cracks begin to appear in the relationship as Howie bonds with a member of his therapy group and Becca reaches out to a teenage boy with telling facial scars. Based on the play by David Lindsay-Abaire.
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