Live from TIFF: Married Life
Married Life ***1/2
Directed by Ira Sachs
90 Minutes
During the Q&A after the screening of the very good and genre confused film "Married Life" I learned that the original novel that the film was based on was a pulp noir film. While there are shades of this pulp noir every now and then in the film, I was shocked to learn that if writer/director Ira Sachs kept the same ending, this would have been a much different thing. Instead he ends up taking a story originally filled with murder and betrayal and double crossing, and uses those same three things to make a lovely story about love and human emotions and relationships and friendships. And it is surrounded by four terrific performances. First of all there is Pierce Brosnan, who is a shockingly good actor after "The Matador." This is a new face of his that we finally got to see. And there is Patricia Clarkson who is always good, Rachael McAdams who is fun to watch-Sachs called her a "Greta Garbo" type. And then there is Chris Cooper, a terrific actor who always justifies his Oscar even in big studio films like "Breach." And even though he is second billed after Brosnan, he is the movie, and without him this would probably not work.
Cooper plays Harry Allen in 1949. He is married to Pat (Clarkson), his long term wife who he does love very much. But his mind and body wanders to Kay (McAdams), a beautiful young widow that seems to love Harry back. Harry's best friend Richard (Brosnan) ends up meeting Kay and becomes attracted to her, and while Harry is trying to think of a way to break the news gently to Pat, Richard begins to woo Kay for his own. Harry comes up with the idea to kill his wife-quick and clean with poison-to save her the horror of divorce, and thus begins the deeper holes and the darker the story goes.
This is a similar comment to "Lars and the Real Girl" where they take a story that could easily be done in a direction different than the one it does. I thought this would be a 40's based sex comedy, and while it does border on farce at times, this is a rather serous drama that has a very beautiful finale. Chris Cooper is just so good-and he takes this character of Harry and ends up making him do bad deeds, but you feel such empathy for him. Brosnan has a more fun role and doesn't have to rely on strong drama as Cooper, but he of course plays the "nice, good looking guy." The cinematography is very well done-it give us the feeling of the 40's, but at the same time it feels like this is a contemporary story. It balances the two very well. And the music score by Dickon Hinchliffe is very beautiful, and makes you want to laugh and cry at the same time. I recommend staying for the credits for the suite that is used. And I'd like to read the book just to see how it all turns out, even though Sachs gave the gist of it.
If you live in the NY area, "Married Life" will be screening at the New York Film Festival, and if you don't it is slated for a release somewhere early next year.
Directed by Ira Sachs
90 Minutes
During the Q&A after the screening of the very good and genre confused film "Married Life" I learned that the original novel that the film was based on was a pulp noir film. While there are shades of this pulp noir every now and then in the film, I was shocked to learn that if writer/director Ira Sachs kept the same ending, this would have been a much different thing. Instead he ends up taking a story originally filled with murder and betrayal and double crossing, and uses those same three things to make a lovely story about love and human emotions and relationships and friendships. And it is surrounded by four terrific performances. First of all there is Pierce Brosnan, who is a shockingly good actor after "The Matador." This is a new face of his that we finally got to see. And there is Patricia Clarkson who is always good, Rachael McAdams who is fun to watch-Sachs called her a "Greta Garbo" type. And then there is Chris Cooper, a terrific actor who always justifies his Oscar even in big studio films like "Breach." And even though he is second billed after Brosnan, he is the movie, and without him this would probably not work.
Cooper plays Harry Allen in 1949. He is married to Pat (Clarkson), his long term wife who he does love very much. But his mind and body wanders to Kay (McAdams), a beautiful young widow that seems to love Harry back. Harry's best friend Richard (Brosnan) ends up meeting Kay and becomes attracted to her, and while Harry is trying to think of a way to break the news gently to Pat, Richard begins to woo Kay for his own. Harry comes up with the idea to kill his wife-quick and clean with poison-to save her the horror of divorce, and thus begins the deeper holes and the darker the story goes.
This is a similar comment to "Lars and the Real Girl" where they take a story that could easily be done in a direction different than the one it does. I thought this would be a 40's based sex comedy, and while it does border on farce at times, this is a rather serous drama that has a very beautiful finale. Chris Cooper is just so good-and he takes this character of Harry and ends up making him do bad deeds, but you feel such empathy for him. Brosnan has a more fun role and doesn't have to rely on strong drama as Cooper, but he of course plays the "nice, good looking guy." The cinematography is very well done-it give us the feeling of the 40's, but at the same time it feels like this is a contemporary story. It balances the two very well. And the music score by Dickon Hinchliffe is very beautiful, and makes you want to laugh and cry at the same time. I recommend staying for the credits for the suite that is used. And I'd like to read the book just to see how it all turns out, even though Sachs gave the gist of it.
If you live in the NY area, "Married Life" will be screening at the New York Film Festival, and if you don't it is slated for a release somewhere early next year.
posted by Eric at
3:51 AM
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