Movie #131........................."Married Life"

Movie #131 "Married Life" has my kind of cast --- a lot of favorites: Brosnan, McAdams, Clarkson, and then the very capable Chris Cooper, who is the main focus in this film. I would liken this to an oldies film from the first minute it hits the screen. Doris Day sings the opening song and the credits are beautifully and fancifully done ----- then the costumes, props, sets and lighting all add to the "Oldies" feeling, so I was liking it. And I really liked the whole idea of the oldies feel with the undercurrent of tension with some of the best actors in Hollywood, but something wasn't right. I'm not sure I can put my finger on it. Perhaps, we expect better pacing, nowadays ------that is, more happening as the film minutes tick by. Maybe the dialogue isn't quite as quick and witty as in the old days. Maybe I hAVE seen this story (or read it) many times over and it wasn't quite creative enough to sustain my interest all the way through. Not sure what it was, but I felt the same about a book I just finished reading for a book club down here in Florida. It's a Ruth Rendell book ("One Across, Two Down"--she's written others; I guess she's popular with murder mysteries), and ironially it's also about a husband trying to kill a woman (unlike the movie, it is his mother-in-law), and although I respect in both this movie and book the undercurrent of tension, and the nod to the "Oldies", neither quite cuts it on the "drawn into much" level. So I wouldn't recommend either, really. Unless the above still sounds intriguing to you ------ there ARE some surprises in both, just not sure it's worth spending 2 hours of your life watching the film (and more if reading the book).




Average rating: 2.894
I gave it 3 stars
Married Life
(2007) PG-13
When unhappily married Harry (Chris Cooper) decides to kill his wife (Patricia Clarkson) to be with his beautiful mistress (Rachel McAdams), his playboy friend Richard (Pierce Brosnan) tries to talk Harry out of it. But Richard's motives are hardly pure, and his hidden agenda soon comes to light. Directed by Ira Sachs, this taut atmospheric drama set in the 1940s also stars Erin Boyes and David Wenham.