Married Life

Married life is a mystery, not only in late 40s, time when the events of this movie take place, but rather since beginning of time. Pat and Harry have known each other since they were children. They have been married for a long time. But perhaps because they know each other so well, their marriage is predictable and tejir interaction civilized. Without each other knowing about the other, they both have love affairs outside of the mariage. Pat with a young writer and Harry with a beautiful and lonely war widow. In spite of being in love with their new love interests, both Pat and Harry are hesitant to divorce each other in fear not to hurt the other emotionally. So is it better to simply kill off the other person and spare them the pain of humiliation? As love triangles go and notions of what excitement married life gives, this is one of the most interesting movies I have seen. The slow pace of the careful storytelling is mesmerizing as we learn about each person's inner batt... Read more

The story itself is negligible and uninteresting. For some period pieces, this is not a problem because the visuals or the character studies are the core of the movie. But here, the visuals were nothing special (other reviewers here disagreed). And the characters were poorly rendered--clearly the fault of the writers, not the actors (who just had nothing to work with). For example, the dialog _says_ that Richard (Pierce Brosnan) is a womanizer, but what we _see_ is quite different. There are similar disconnects for all the other characters. Similarly the (trivial) story arc depends entirely on the voice-over--without it, I would have had a complete different interpretation of events. Without the audio, I _never_ would have thought that Harry (Chris Cooper) was in love with Kay (McAdams) nor she with him. Nor would I have suspected that Richard and Harry were more than casual acquaintances. The sequence where we are waiting to find out whether Harry has murdered his wife i... Read more

This is a movie about married life in the late 40's. It shows a married couples' problem in that time period and how leaving your wife or husband was not an option in that era. Both the husband and wife are not in love anymore and they're both cheating, but they will not ask for a divorce, because they can't bare to see the other person unhappy. This was true that divorce did not happen in this time period, but I thought the story that the husband would rather see his wife dead than divorce her is crazy. The movie was suspenseful, but I thought it was unfunny and not that entertaining. I recommend renting this movie rather than buying, this movie was average.

So, truth be told, this cast is very impressive. Chris Cooper is a very commanding presence who has recently proven his star has yet to fade (watch him work the screen ten times over in `Breach'); Pierce Brosnan is a very charming and infectious actor who knows how to deliver a delicate and nuanced performance (watch him act his butt off in `Evelyn'); Rachel McAdams is one of those actresses to watch out for, working to break out of her teen queen title with interesting choices (watch her steal every ounce of limelight with her Oscar snubbed `Mean Girls' performance); and Patricia Clarkson, I mean really, don't get me started on how amazing she is. Watch anything she touches and see a screen presence that is beyond words. Whether she is quietly breaking to pieces (ala `Dogville'), charismatically unraveling (ala `Pieces of April') or weighing in with a delicate bravado (ala `Far From Heaven') she is always a notch above the rest. So with a cast this impressive this film is bound ... Read more

The film zips along with its solid script, witty and snappy dialogue and thoughtful and deliciously unpredictable moments. More than once, I was literally at the edge of my seat holding my breath. In 1949, it's a simpler time with diners, luncheons, tea, radio, and dancing on the town or to the picture show as an actual night out. There's something overall romantic about this time. The narration, which I have grown tired of as a plot device (I see it as such a short cut to the main ideas too often), actually works here in adding to the overall nostalgia and quaintness. Many scenes are like Hopper paintings come alive making Married Life a visual treat as well as a compelling film. The cast is impressive from Pierce Brosnan (The Matador, Die Another Day) to Academy Award winner Chris Cooper (Adaptation, Breach) to indie steady Patricia Clarkson (Lars and the Real Girl). Rachel McAdams (Wedding Crashers, The Notebook) is lovely and so good in these period roles. She looks comfortable ... Read more