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[photo by Nigel Smith / indieWIRE]

For a filmmaker associated best with exploring gender and sexuality onscreen in such audacious, stylized films as Hedwig and the Angry Inch and Shortbus, John Cameron Mitchell seems an unlikely but inspired choice to helm David Lindsay-Abaire"s pared-down adaptation of his own Pulitzer Prize-winning drama, Rabbit Hole (opening in limited release on December 17, nationwide January 14):

RABBIT HOLE is a vivid, hopeful, honest and unexpectedly witty portrait of a family searching for what remains possible in the most impossible of all situations. Becca and Howie Corbett (Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart) are returning to their everyday existence in the wake of a shocking, sudden loss. Just eight months ago, they were a happy suburban family with everything they wanted. Now, they are caught in a maze of memory, longing, guilt, recrimination, sarcasm and tightly controlled rage from which they cannot escape. Becca hesitantly opens up to her opinionated, loving mother (Dianne Wiest) and secretly reaches out to the teenager involved in the accident that changed everything (Miles Teller); Howie lashes out and imagines solace with another woman (Sandra Oh). Yet, as off track as they are, the couple keeps trying to find their way back to a life that still holds the potential for beauty, laughter and happiness. The resulting journey is an intimate glimpse into two people learning to re-engage with each other and a world that has been tilted off its axis.

Calling from Los Angeles, Mitchell spoke with me about Rabbit Hole and why making the film was a personally cathartic experience, but our brief chat also touched on his love for comic books, why LGBT-themed indies are routinely mediocre, Hedwig on Broadway, and what he wants for Christmas this year. To listen to the podcast, click here. (10:07)

Podcast Music
INTRO: Bright Eyes: "Down in a Rabbit Hole"
OUTRO: John Cameron Mitchell: "Tear Me Down (from Hedwig and the Angry Inch)".