Love and
marriage
There’s
a truism of stage – and by extension, screen – writing
known as Chekhov’s gun, which basically states: “if
you show a gun in the first act, you’d better use it by
the third”. It’s a lesson Ira Sachs either didn’t
learn or (more likely) deliberately flouts in Married Life,
his follow-up to the Sundance Award-winning Forty Shades of
Blue.
This is very much a small film, concentrating essentially
on four main characters. It’s a little like a filmed play,
although it’s actually based on a book, John Bingham’s
Five Roundabouts to Heaven. This gives the film a welcome
intimacy as we explore the characters’ lives, but is also
a little self-limiting.
Sachs, who also collaborated on the screenplay,
creates an intriguing scenario involving married couple Harry
Allen (Chris Cooper) and wife Pat (Patricia Clarkson); Harry’s
mistress Kay Nesbitt (Rachel McAdam) and his best friend Richard
Langley (Pierce Brosnan). It’s primarily a relationship
drama, as Harry struggles to decide what to do with his attraction
to Kay and his loyalty to Pat – a situation complicated
by the duplicitous Richard who has his own designs on Kay.
The problem, in terms of Chekhov’s gun, is
that Sachs also introduces a thriller element into the film but
then takes it nowhere. Indeed, it’s more than an element
– it fills basically two-thirds of the running time. This
scriptwriting issue is a bit of a double whammy for the film,
because the thriller idea is actually a lot more interesting than
the relationship conflict. So not only is the added thriller element
rather unsatisfying in itself, but it detracts from what is presumably
Sachs’ core concerns.
Watching the film, I thought on several occasions
that it was going to head in any number of potentially interesting
directions, only to see each successively peter out. This applies
all the more to the film’s conclusion, which doesn’t
take the easy option but also isn’t all that exciting frankly.
Sachs
directs with a deft touch for the most part, showing both an eye
for detail and an empathy for the inner feelings of his characters.
Despite several subtle moments, Sachs oddly opts for a voice-over
narration. I’m a little ambivalent about voice-overs; like
most things sometimes they work and sometimes they don’t.
In this case, I think it falls into the latter category. The narration
doesn’t really add much to the story and oddly becomes a
little confusing at times – surely the opposite of what
was intended.
The film is set in the late 1940s and early 1950s,
and the period is evocatively brought to life via Hugo Luczyc-Wyhowski’s
production design and Peter Deming’s meticulous cinematography.
While in keeping with the period, the anti-smoking lobby will
undoubtedly be up in arms over the film’s depiction of tobacco
use.
I’m unashamedly a fan of Chris Cooper and
he doesn’t disappoint here. While I had a minor query over
just what the winsome Kay would see in his rather downbeat Harry;
but he plays the role to an absolute tee. Patricia Clarkson is
also note-perfect as the enigmatic Pat. Rachel McAdams confirms
her potential as an A-list actor with an assured performance as
Kay. Pierce Brosnan pulls double duty as the sneaky and rather
smarmy Richard and the film’s narrator.
Sachs is unquestionably a talented filmmaker; although
I’m not sure that Married Life is the best showcase
of his talent. He’s clearly an actors’ director, and
coaxes fine performances from the relatively small cast here.
His problematic script and a few odd choices however combine to
cruel the film’s chances of rising to greatness.
David Edwards
