But What about those endings??
Added 10/10/2009
"Married Life"is an interesting film, beautifully directed and performed, perhaps a little too larconic at times and with a middle section that lags and sags a bit. Yet it ultimately becomes a different movie at the end, going from a film noir romantic suspense thriller to something a little more akin to something John Irving would have written. I agree it's not a comedy and there are only fleeting moments of ironic humour, but, hey, what about the alternate endings.??!! Clearly the reason the film is so short (at 87 mins)is that there is a whole final chapter running about 7-8 minutes that the director left on the cutting room floor. We get to see three edits of this final chapter on the DVD and it turns it again into quite a different film.No one else here seems to have commented on these endings and I would love to know what people thought, personally I rather liked the melancholic stroll through time feel these gave the film and feel there is an even better film lurking in here somewhere. The theatrical version, pleasing enough as it is, is weighed down with too much of an attempt to make it noirish and comical. This could be the story of a journey through life and its strange and sad ironies.
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Quiet look on married life
Added 5/7/2009
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 battles, desires and motives.
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What you see conflicts with what you hear
Added 5/3/2009
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 is so far beyond over-wrought and over-extended that I became angry at the movie for being so blatant in trying to jerk my emotions around.
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Married Life by Brandon M. Moskos
Added 3/16/2009
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.
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Time to find a new bedmate...
Added 1/28/2009
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 to be...boring?
I walked into `Married Life' eager to see something amazing and what I got was something I longed to see end. It was dry, meandering and uninteresting. It's sad, because the performances by all four actors were very, very good. In a different movie I'd say that they were all Oscar worthy. The pacing and mood setting was just too unbearable though, taking away every ounce of life these actors breathed into their characters.
So the film tells of a strange love triangle (or should I say square, or is it a hexagon) that forms between friends. Harry is married to Pat, and while Harry loves Pat he is `in love' with Kay who is young and vibrant and makes him feel needed. Harry's best friend is Richard, who upon meeting Kay is instantly smitten. Richard falls in love with Kay and wants her all to himself, which seems possible beings that Harry is determined not to hurt his wife. Richard's ideal plan is soon hampered by the unraveling of Pat's dark secret, not to mention the fact that Harry, in an attempt to spare his wife the pain of divorce, has decided to kill her instead.
Yes, there is a lot going on here, and it all sounds so intriguing; but it's not.
It's the pacing that kills this one and it's because of that monotone delivery that I'll never watch it again. It nearly put me to sleep and it took me two evenings just to get through it, and it wasn't like I started it late in the evening; I simply couldn't watch it any longer.
It was that dull.
I feel bad for the cast and maybe even the screenwriter, who at least attempted to write a tightly woven and interesting marital thriller, but director Ira Sachs (I just noticed that he helped pen this thing too so maybe I don't feel bad for the screenwriter) botches this one up quite a bit. Like I said, the acting is a saving grace (especially from Clarkson and Cooper) but in the end this marriage is not worth saving.
Oh, and so we are clear, the comparisons to `Mad Men' are quite disturbing beings that the television show is far from boring and unbelievably engrossing; something that this film is far from.
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About the blu-ray
Added 2/25/2009
I thought the image quality was outstanding here. I love period movies and blu-ray is a great way to watch them, especially when they so attractivelly recreate the period, as in this movie.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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"Did We Build Our Happiness On The Unhappiness of Others...?"
Added 1/25/2009
Name-checking the top grade cast in "Married Life" - a sort of 40's/50's film noir tale of marital shenanigans - will be enough to draw most movie lovers in. And while Patricia Clarkson and Rachel McAdams are typically lovely, deep and believable in their roles, it's the two men - Pierce Brosnan and Chris Cooper - who really get to shine.
Its directed by IRA SACHS and co-adapted by him and ORAN MOVERMAN from the 1953 book by JOHN BINGHAM called "Five Roundabouts To Heaven".
Narrated by Richard (Brosnan's character), you just know you're going to enjoy this story when you hear him casually say, "I always thought marriage was a mild kind of illness...like the Flu or Chicken Pox...to which I was safely immune". Brosnan's tone throughout the narration changes - at first it's sly and laidback and suave - so you're not sure if he's the good guy or the bad guy - or both - and nor do you want to know - because in this clever and beautifully revealing film, the finding out is half the fun...
And who out there in movie land doesn't want to see a film with Chris Cooper in it? Harry (Cooper's character) is in a stagnating but not entirely loveless marriage to Pat (Clarkson). Then along comes the young, alive and beautiful Kay (McAdams) who stirs Harry's very soul - but alas also grabs the loins of the caddish Richard (Brosnan) - his lifetime buddy and pal. Friendships are tested, plots are formed and everyone drinks loads of scotch and smokes acres of cigarettes and acts as if nothing is wrong...
The boys as you can imagine - given meaty material - are great. Warm, cold, up, down - Cooper layers his performance - and he slyly fools you too by doing so. Brosnan is still great eye-candy and effortlessly charming - caddish one moment - genuine the next - he plays his character both ways - and does it very, very well. McAdams is enough to make most grown men weak at the knees and Patricia Clarkson - who probably has the least likeable of roles - makes you empathize with her character - see her as a real person - a great performance from a genuine class act. In fact, you can 'feel' how all the actors rise to the evolving story - and you suspect they thoroughly enjoyed working off each other while making this intelligently written little gem.
Visually - it's period Americana - were in MAD MEN territory here. "Married Life" is gorgeous to look at - and very "Shawshank" in places on the outdoor scenes - an absolute blast to view on Blu Ray.
The real unexpected pleasure, however, comes in 3 fully realised Alternate Endings that are almost as enjoyable as the entire movie - and without spoiling it - they take the story to other places - and brilliantly too. Brosnan - in particular - is exceptionally good.
There's a commentary by director and co-script writer Ira Sachs, but it's a damn shame there isn't an on-set segment - because here's actors and a movie you admire - and it would also have been just great to get the writer and director's perspective in interview outside of listening to the entire commentary.
Not a masterpiece for sure, but a great little watch nonetheless and one that deserves your attention.
"Did We Build Our Happiness On The Unhappiness of Others...?" Brosnan asks towards the end of his voice over - watch this 'classy' little noir thriller to find out...
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Married Life - Blu-ray Info
Added 1/24/2009
Version: U.S.A / Sony / Region A, B, C
MPEG-4 AVC BD-50 / AACS / High Profile 4.1
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Running time: 1:30:52
Movie size: 26,09 GB
Disc size: 31,24 GB
Total bit rate: 38.29 Mbps
Average video bit rate: 27.28 Mbps
Number of chapters: 16
Subtitles: English SDH, English, Arabic, French
Dolby TrueHD Audio English 2904 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 2904 kbps / 24-bit (AC3 Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps)
Dolby TrueHD Audio French 2654 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 2654 kbps / 24-bit (AC3 Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps)
Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps / Dolby Surround
#Deleted Scenes: Alternate Endings (SD - 20m:16s)
#Theatrical Trailer (HD 2m:4s)
#HD Previews
#Audio Commentary
#BD-Live enabled
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