Married Life

The story centres on an adulterous yet sensitive husband, Harry Allen, who plots the death of his wife in order to save her from the humiliation of a divorce. Set in the late 1940s and narrated by the husband’s friend Richard, who falls in love, at first sight, with the ‘other woman’, the film moves back and forth between period drama and black comedy, eventually reaching a satisfying compromise. Characters shamelessly lie to one another, justifying their actions with pure intention, but failing to realize the consequences of their various extracurricular romantic entanglements.

The film’s greatest strength may lie with the cast, who manage to elicit sympathy even when their scheming characters are at their manipulative worst. The always great Patricia Clarkson gives the loving wife an intelligence and independent spirit seldom seen in films set in this era (though her roles in 'Far From Heaven' and 'Good Night and Good Luck' may belie that statement). Chris Cooper, as the romantic but frightening husband and Rachel MacAdams, as the mistress torn between two men, instill a sense of sadness and fragility in their respective characters while Pierce Brosnan, as the charming, smooth-talking Richard, lends the voiceover a soothing, lullaby-like quality.*

If at times the plot seems to stray—as if the screenwriter was unsure whether to plunge the characters into farce or tragedy—it ultimately comes together in the end, in a manner that’s far more plausible and meaningful than either of the two extremes. I think that’s why I liked it and would recommend it to others.**

Couldn’t stay for the Q & A as the film started 20 minutes late (stupid red carpet!!) and I had to literally run to the Wintergarden to make it to Mad Detective. Director Ira Sachs and stars Rachel MacAdams, Chris Cooper, and Patricia Clarkson were all in attendance so I’m assuming the discussion afterwards was interesting one. If any readers attended the Q & A for this screening, I’d love to hear your comments.

Footnotes:

*As soothing as Pierce’s voice may have been, I wonder if the film might have been improved by ditching the voice-over narration completely and letting the onscreen action speak for itself. With such an accomplished cast, it may have been more interesting to let the audience interpret their emotions and thoughts from their facial expressions. While the ending would have been a little more ambiguous, this may have been an improvement as well.

**Having recommended this to others, I'm a little unsure as to this film's fate mostly because I'm not quite sure who the intended audience for this film might be. It's definitely a quieter, character-driven film that doesn't employ the standard pacing and plot devices that seem necessary for mainstream success/appeal. Yet the presence of higher profile actors may make it less marketable to independent film audiences, who would be most likely to embrace it. At any rate, I wish it well.