The premise for “Married Life,” which boasts a stellar cast, sounds promising: Fiftyish Harry (Chris Cooper) has fallen for Kay (Rachel McAdams), a much younger woman. Because he wants to save his wife, Pat (Particia Clarkson), from the pain of divorce, he decides to kill her so she won’t suffer. This has the makings of a wonderful film noir, with a beautiful femme fatale and a double-crossing best friend, Richard (Pierce Brosnan). Unfortunately, what develops is a film too sincere for its own good. You see, Kay isn’t a femme fatale and while Richard maneuvers to win Kay’s heart, he’s also concerned about Harry and Pat. And Harry – does he really want to kill Pat? Cooper’s Harry is a little too low key and colorless, but Brosnan and Clarkson seem to be enjoying their roles. We don’t really know enough about Kay, but McAdams plays her with heartfelt earnestness.
Director Ira Sachs has said that he wanted to make a movie about people who love and want to be loved, which, at first glance, doesn’t match the premise. Once you’ve seen the movie, however, you can see that “Married Life” matches Sachs’ intent perfectly. Nonetheless, what you expect is not what you get and the movie is weaker because of this. I’d wait and rent it from Netflix. (3/5/08)
No comments:
Post a Comment