The late 1940s. Richard Langley, a bachelor playboy, narrates a story that starts when his best friend, Harry Allen, invites him to lunch to tell Richard he's in love. Trouble is, Harry's already married to Pat; he worries Pat would be hurt too deeply by a divorce. Then, Harry's new love, Kay, joins them. Richard is smitten, so when he finds out that Pat may be in love with someone else but won't tell Harry because she fears he would be too hurt, Richard can't decide if he should let all the cats out of the bag. He'd unite pairs of lovers, but he'd lose Kay. Meanwhile, Harry decides that a swift end to Pat's life would be more kind than divorcing her. He buys poison. Murder will out?
Genre(s): Crime, Drama, Romance
Runtime: 91 minutes
Rating: 6.5/10 (3,523 votes)
Release Date: 12 September 2007
Country: USA, Canada
Languages: English
Company: Sidney Kimmel Entertainment
Sound: SDDS, Dolby Digital, DTS
MPAA: Rated PG-13 for some thematic elements and a scene of sexuality.
Director(s): Ira Sachs
Producer(s):
Steve Golin – producer
William Horberg – executive producer
Sidney Kimmel – producer
Matt Littin – executive producer
Alix Madigan – executive producer (as Alix Madigan-Yorkin)
Jawal Nga – producer
David Nicksay – executive producer
Ira Sachs – producer
Adam Shulman – executive producer
Geoff Stier – executive producer
Bruce Toll – executive producer
Writer(s):
Ira Sachs – (screenplay) &
Oren Moverman – (screenplay)
John Bingham – (book "Five Roundabouts to Heaven")
Cast:
Chris Cooper – Harry Allen
Annabel Kershaw – Miss Jones
Pierce Brosnan – Richard Langley
Patricia Clarkson – Pat Allen
Rachel McAdams – Kay Nesbitt
Sheila Paterson – Mrs. Walsh
David Richmond-Peck – Tom
Erin Boyes – Becky
Elijah St. Germain – Little Charlie
Terence Kelly – Dr. Anderson
Music: Dickon Hinchliffe
Tagline: Do you know what really goes on in the mind of the person with whom you sleep?
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In look, this film reminded me so much of those wonderful BBC shows ofthe 70's and 80's that I wanted to love it, but its flawed story anddirection made it a disappointment. This film missed so many chances atgreatness. Simple scene additions and subtractions were necessary butwere overlooked due to poor story development. We went for our ChrisCooper fix and he did not disappoint, but as stated, the story and thedirector let him down. Certain scenes were overdone or underdone in thewrong places, such as the scene where he bought poison and kept givingso many halting, stalling, guilty looks until I just about yelled,"enough with the guilty looks, Chris, we get it." And, the "can't weall now just be friends" attitude of the denouement after all thetreachery and deception and murderous intent throughout was really lameand unrealistic. A film set in the 40's made now is still a modern filmfor modern audiences, and the censored and prudish film-makingattitudes of the 40's are long gone and forgotten, thank goodness, evenif this filmmaker's attempt was to duplicate the look of those prettysappy film years. At least he did that well.
The film did have the great look of 40's films, terrific periodcostuming, and great camera-work and lighting. Sets were art decowonderful too, so it shocked me that in this fine looking film thedirector missed so many story chances to make it a great film. Amongother crucial things stated above, he sold out for the easy andtypical, feel-good Hollywood ending, even when it did not fit the restof the story at all and it would have been much better and morerealistic if more serious and unfriendly, and not so "is everybodyhappy now with this 40's era ending?" Yuk.
The most disappointing thing, other than the sappy, pat ending thatreally was a shame, were missing story scenes near the end that wereneeded to finish this story of deception and pain and thus make it intoa more serious and believable tale of the damaging results of lost lovedue to treachery, as this director obviously has a problem withconsistent and complete story development, and has no idea how to endone in the most effective manner.
Patricia Clarkson was effective as Cooper's betrayed and betrayingwife, as were Pierce Brosnan and Rachal McAdams in lead roles, andCooper was his usual great presence as the star. His well lived-in,soulful face is so effective in these damaged-man roles that he almostowns the casting for them. However, I would love to have the chance tore-edit this film, adding at least two crucial scenes near the end andsubtracting two very lame and disappointing scenes closer to theend…….the dinner of the two couples together where it looked likenothing hurtful ever happened to any of them, everyone was just so niceand polite with each other, and the moronic end scene where the wholegang was playing a party game and laughing. It was so stupid, vapid,sappy and out of place in this otherwise serious film that it ruinedthe story for me and left me thinking of yet another great chance lost.
If you go to this movie expecting an Adam Sandler kind of comedy, or astraight out drams, you WILL be disappointed.
Melodrama is not for everyone. It is a genre that, in my opinion,requires excellent acting and writing to keep you in the story andvested in the characters. "Married Life" most certainly had those twoqualities; and. the overall look of the film and the excellentattention to period detail exuded a kind of innocence that we jaded21st century folks are not used to.
The acting by all four leads was superb, and Chris Cooper demonstratedthat his talent is among the best of his generation. Patricia Clarksonis always excellent in every film, and here, she shone in every scene.
Rachel McAdams is another rising star, and she played this genreperfectly, reminding me of some of Lana Turner's melodramatic roles.
Pierce Brosnan surprised me with his suave, yet sensitive demeanor, andhis somewhat ironic narrative.
The slow pace and lack of action will be a turn off for the "typical"movie goer. For me it was heaven.
This was a painfully slow, claustrophobic, self-conscious movie thatwould have worked much better as a 2-act play off-Broadway, and eventhen I'm not so sure.
The script was not nearly as clever as it thinks it is, and the plotdevices that are there to heighten tension and drama are hackneyed andannoying.
I kept looking at my watch hoping it would end soon.
Rachel McAdams gives the best performance of the ensemble, and is theonly character that has any sense of decency (although that is notsaying much). Oh–the sets look authentic.
That's about the best I can say…do NOT waste your money, just waitfor it to be available on the small screen if you must.
If for nothing less, this film should get awards for costume, set,lighting and sound. The film sent me right back to my grandmother'sera, so vividly and lovingly recreated I could almost smell it. I wantto see it again and again to relive that time, it was so beautifullydone. That said, it was also a very entertaining film. I chuckled,gasped, held my breath, felt my heart beating faster. Some reviewerwrote that they thought Pierce Brosnan was improperly cast, but Ithought he was perfect for the role. I cannot write much more withoutgiving serious spoilers. This was not a Hollywood blockbuster film witha huge budget, but a perfect gem with complex characters you would loveto have as friends or neighbors, set in a time that is sadly passed.
Beware, there is a great deal of smoking (as there was in that era…)I would have loved not seeing how badly generations have been addictedto it. But it DID make you remember what it WAS like back then.
Don't miss this quiet film, or you will be sad you missed it when awardtime comes around.
Funny, but real married life doesn't tend to be this interesting…..Harry (excellent Chris Cooper) is a prosperous, middle-aged businessman in 1949 east coast America, who appears to have a good life and ahappy marriage, in that buttoned down, post war, suburban kind of way.He has a lovely house, a grandchild and a slim, attractive andintelligent wife Pat (fabulous Patricia Clarkson). But Harry seeks thatelusive quality, "real" happiness in his life, someone who will lovehim totally for himself, not just for the sex, and he feels that he isentitled to look for it. He plans to leave Pat.
"Who is she?" asks his canny best friend, man about town Richard(Pierce Brosnan), over a drink-fueled dinner in town. Because there is,of course, another woman lurking in the wings, the delicious, flawless,tragically widowed and much younger Kay (Rachel McAdams as a classicHitchcock blonde). And Harry makes the serious and fundamental error ofintroducing them to one another.
Harry is convinced that Pat is so devoted to him that divorce woulddevastate her to a degree from which she might never recover, so heresolves instead to kill her, and spare her the pain and humiliation ofseparation. He buys poison and experiments on the elderly family dog,then plots Pat's demise, calmly rationalising that it is the kindestthing to do, like euthanizing a slightly dotty pet. Richard meanwhile,is befriending Kay himself and becoming more and more drawn to herapparently genuine niceness. But things are not all they seem. Patherself has some secrets, which Richard stumbles upon when he arrivesearly to stay at Harry and Pat's weekend cottage. It seems Pat too hasa lover, rumpled local author John O'Brien (David Wenham), but Patfeels she can never leave Harry because, after all, he is devoted toher and would never recover etc………
The story is narrated in retrospect rather than flashback, by Richard,who is close to them both and is party to all their secrets. How can hekeep Harry and Pat together so he can sneak off with Kay? This is notso much a love triangle as an irregular pentagon. It is beautifullywritten by Ira Sachs and Oren Moverman from a John Bingham novel, andit's skillfully acted by all concerned. The movie tries hard to staywithin the conventions of 1940s Film Noir. It is perhaps too stylizedbut is nicely designed and is wry and darkly humorous. I'm not sure howcommercially successful it will be in the USA at this time, wheneveryone seems to want to escape into brain dead horror flicks and bigbudget special effects extravaganzas. I guess it will depend on howmany middle aged, cynical old codgers like me are prepared to get outto a theater?
Rachel McAdams seems to be picking her roles carefully, I really likedher here, and Pierce Brosnan plays Richard so well that I am afraid hewill get typecast as the consummate cad having escaped the shackles ofJames Bond. David Wenham seemed rather underutilized, given what a bigname he is in Australia, but possibly playing alongside such actinggreats as Clarkson and Cooper will raise his profile in the USA. It'scertainly a long way from 300. And for those who thought Kay (McAdamsis 32) was an unlikely match for Harry (Cooper is 56) there is theslight consolation that Pat (Clarkson is 48) gets to play with theyounger John (Wenham is 42). American films these days mostly keepmiddle aged women in an entirely sex free zone, so I would imagineClarkson must have loved this role, which allows her to be sly, sexyand enigmatic.
Not a bad film. I enjoyed it. My only real complaint is that the endingis a little weak, a bit of a cop out in its intention to avoidmelodrama. Everyone appears to live happily ever after which I findjust a little doubtful. I'd have loved Pat to run off with Richard. Nowthat would have been fun!
One of the main reasons to see the new infidelity drama, Married Life,directed by newcomer (though not first-timer) Ira Sachs, is ChrisCooper. He plays Harry Allen, the one at the center of much of thedouble-crossing that goes on in the story. He's married to Pat (alwaysdependable Patricia Clarkson), sleeping on the side with Kay (RachelMcAdams, here platinum blonde), and his best friend, the womanizingRichard (Brosnan, he's 007 after all even to this day in a nearneo-noir) is pining for Kay. He doesn't know what to do (and alsodoesn't know, apparently, that Pat also has an affair with a mutualacquaintance), as he feels happiest with Kay bit can't bear to breakPat's heart. So, he decides the only humane thing to do is to kill Pat.
Cooper, therefore, embodies this character, a shrewd businessman whofinds love in a woman half his age, in a very subtle manner. While thedirection is straightforward and the bulk of the performances(Clarkson, Brosnan, McAdams) are as good as they can be in this smallensemble, Cooper is the one to watch here. He will never let on- unlessthe camera is right on his tense face- that he's lying or deceitful,and his outward calm hides a dark desire for ridding himself of histotal suburban drudgery with his significant other. There's so muchthat Cooper does- as he did in Breach- that elevates this as justanother hit into the genre spittoon.
Married Life is above average, if not great, Hitchcock homage, howeverwithout the same lift of style (it's more in line with an old-schoolpulp drama). It allows all of the characters to be complicit, and forthe guilt to be so close to the surface you expect it to boil over anymoment; that it doesn't is half the fun. Isn't it funny, for example,how little Harry seems to care at all about the dog he buries (I won'tsay how, but you can guess its significance) and focuses on just thefuture with Kay? Maybe not, but there's plenty of ironic giggles to behad with these morally bankrupt characters going back and forth behindeach other's backs. The actors also make it a near must-see, chewing onthe dialog like it's a sandwich from a snappy deli.
At the same time, however, there's some minor disappointment this can'tbe something of an equivalent to the classics of cynical old. Maybeit's the ending, which I won't reveal except to say that it's a littlesunnier (and a little more than a head-scratcher considering commonsense with since-childhood friendships). And yet, I can't help butrecommend the movie to those who love some sharp, crackling-cum-screwyaffairs of the heart in nice clothes and bad minds.
The time is the late 1940s, right after WWII (although little note ismade of it), with all that era's gender roles and expectations of howcivilized nice married people should respond to each other. It was atime when nice people didn't have affairs (but if so, they were keptsecret).
Sets and props are amazingly accurate (furniture styles, wallpapers,cars, prevalent smoking) and even the clothing styles give a strongwhiff of the era without being too funky.
SPOILER: The film starts out as situation comedy and then subtly movesinto a very gripping thriller until making a final resolution. Theexperience is somewhat like starting out on a park's scenic railroadand suddenly finding oneself unexpectedly on a roller coaster rideuntil, finally,coming back to end in the railroad station from whichone started — exiting smiling, surprised, pleased and saying "what aride!"
Good ensemble — the four main characters are excellent and well cast,the males doing a bit more of the heavy lifting but with great supportfrom both women.
While this wasn't a bad movie, it just wasn't all that good either.
Visually compelling, I must give it that… and a glimpse of peoplewith manners and emotional restraint in this day and age of South Parkmentalities is refreshing.
But I was expecting much more, and the story in and of itself did notprogress beyond the 'merely interesting'.
The young blond, when all was said and done, was unconvincing as a trueand deep love interest for the older Cooper… this being confirmed bythe manner in which she (seemingly) so easily jumped from his arms tothe more believable Brosnan's.
There were a few scenes that were thrown in merely for buildingsuspense that felt like cheap gimmicks after the fact, like when Cooperwas stopped by the police. Or the blithe way his wife's affair withthat other fellow just conveniently dissipated (especially after suchprofessions of mutual love).
There were some profound things going on that just never seemed to cometo a realistic fruition, and thus by the end, where everyone seems tolive happily ever after, one can only walk away from the theatre andshrug.
Probably the scariest movie title of the year! Kidding! "Married Life"satirizes the constant secrecy and everyday hypocrisy of the nuptials.The film stars Chris Cooper and Patricia Clarkson as Harry & Pat Allen,an upper-middle class middle-age couple in the 1940's. Try to say that10 times! Harry is having an affair with the voluptuous Kay played bythe voluptuous Rachel McAdams; so one can say that Harry is an avid fanof those Not-Married Kay Cosmetics. However, Pat does has secrets ofher own which I stand "pat" not to reveal at this time. Did I mentionthat Harry wants to poison Pat? Oh, did I give away too much or wasthat my poison pen talking? Anyways, we continue the "Married Life".Here comes Dick, in the form of Richard Langley (played by PierceBrosnan) who is Harry's best friend who has a manipulative & suave planto take his Kay from Harry and eat her too. Yes, "Married Life" isprobably based on a zillion true stories of adultery, egoism, andmanipulation that transpire in marriages. By setting the film in the40's, Director Ira Sachs gives the film a different generational takeon the marriage mischievousness but with the same self-centeredovertones. Sachs did a commendable job in his direction, but his dryscreenplay with co-scripter Oren Moverman should have been annulledfrom the start. Our esteemed acting "cuatreros" (Cooper, Clarkson,McDormand, Brosnan) were positively "thespianly" committed to theircharacters in "Married Life" but I have seen better characterrelationships from these great actors in previous roles. The film"Married Life" is pretty much like marriage itself: exciting anddiscoverable in the beginning but mediocre and monotonous in the end.*** Average
When I saw the trailers of this movie, I was not impressed, but when Iread the story in one of the reviews – the plot intrigued me. Thus Iwent to see this movie.
Harry Allen (Chris Cooper) is fed up with his marriage with wife Pat(Patricia Clarkson) and having an affair with another girl Kay (RachelMcAdams); and because he does not want Pat to feel sad about the affair– he plots Pats murder in a way it would not look like one. WhenHarry's friend Richard (Pierce Brosnan) knows about Harry's plan andhis affair – he becomes interested in Kay and pursues her as hisfiancé. On one occasion Richard finds Pat with another man, when Harryrealizes that his girl friend Kay is having an affair with his bestfriend Richard and his wife is having an affair with some other man –he gets back to being with his wife in the end.
The movie is slow and unfolds at its own pace. It does not have anythat extra bit of suspense around the story. The versatile actors donot fill life in the set-up which is said to be of 1940s – though itlooks pretty much like 90s décor. The Director Ira Sachs tries tobrings twists and turns, and incorporate suspense – but I think, hisstyle does not sustain interest to make the movie rise above theordinary.
Among performances – they are generally above average, but nobodystands out as good or great. Chris Cooper is the best, followed by veryhandsome and good looking Pierce Brosnan, who at times brings charm tothe screen with his presence and style.
The best part of the movie was the quote at the end of the movie that Iloved – If anyone who knows what is going on the mind of the personsitting next to you, please raise your hand. Absolutely brilliant quoteto end an average – or little above average movie.
(Stars 5.25 out of 10)