Married Life (DVD)

MARRIED LIFE will probably fare better in the DVD format where this at times disturbing view of marital status can be viewed in private rather than in the company of the throngs that resemble the characters depicted in this fine little film. Based on the novel 'Five Roundabouts to Heaven' by John Bingham and well adapted to the screen by Oren Moverman and director Ira Sachs, MARRIED LIFE is a dissection of the hallowed state of matrimony, and one that shows the creases and little holes that make so many marriages fail. it is set in the late 1940s, likely with the attempt to give some 'distance' to the plot, but the messages remain in comparing the tale to contemporary times.

Narrated by perennial playboy bachelor Richard Langley (Pierce Brosnan), we are introduced to Harry Allen (Chris Cooper) who apparently has it all - big house, great job, sex-driven wife Pat (Patricia Clarkson), country home - but Harry has fallen in love with military widow Kay Nesbitt (Rachel McAdams). Harry respects and still 'loves' Pat, but finds in Kay the love he has felt missing from his marriage. He confides his desire to leave Pat to Richard who is surprised - until Richard meets the beautiful Kay. Not wanting to hurt Pat, Harry decides the only solution is to murder Pat so that he can then marry Kay: he researches poisons and buys a potion that he plans to place in Pat's ever-present 'digestive medicine' bottle. Harry and Kay continue their secret assignations in both Kay's home and Harry's nearby country home, but things begin to muddle as Richard falls for Kay, and Kay's attention shifts to Richard, and the devoted Pat is hiding her secret lover Tom (David Richmond-Peck). As the twists and turns surface, everything unwinds and the ending of the story comes as a surprise to everyone!

The quartet of actors - Clarkson, Cooper, Brosnan, and McAdams - serve the story well and the flavor of the 1940s starts with superb opening credit images and carries through with the fine decors and attention to detail that don't seem to miss a beat in recreating the period. This is a difficult film to classify - it has comedy inherent in the absurdity of portions of the plot, it has drama in the core of the tale, and it has mystery as the surprises keep surfacing. The overall effect will be different for every viewer, depending on where in the marriage spectrum each viewer stands! Grady Harp, September 08

A Pierce Brosnan narrated period piece about love, marriage and in the end - friendship. I will preface this with a disclaimer - the high rating and bit about friendship is for the alternate versions of this film.

The quality of the transfer looked very good, and I think when they make heavy make-up films like this the standards have to be higher now. Making it look flawless on such beauties as McAdams and an aged Brosnan and Cooper (alternates) can be tough, but they pulled it off decently. The clarity was so good at times there were a few reflections of cameras, lights and boom mics in glasses, eyes, etc. The story was made to be very believable for the time period, but I have to give the kudos to Cooper for once again playing a great role.

But what makes this film is the alternate endings. DRASTICALLY different then what you saw in theaters and on the home release. The special features on the Blu are the same as on the DVD, so buying this Blu would be recommended for the period piece memorabilia clarity alone. Plus, the other endings showed as 1080 even though it says 480 on the box (and most alternate inclusions are lodef on Blu so that was nice). I wish there was a way to bookmark the film and splice in the much better ending(s). Rex Reed keeps getting quoted as saying this is humorous and funny but I would say expect more of a "simmering" slowly played film that has some fun scenes and maybe one or two themes of darkness, but is believably enjoyable. The alternate endings total about 20 more minutes and are worth the time investment.

Other than being super slow in parts and occasionally predictable, I truly enjoyed this movie as it was a different take on married life in the 1940s. There is mystery, intrigue, deception and infidelity, not to mention that there are a lot of different stereotypes that one normally associates with certain genders that are broken throughout the movie.

Great acting by all cast member... I enjoyed the storyline, costuming and cinematography.