Married Life (2007)

A 1940s-set drama where an adulterous man plots his wife's death instead of putting her through the humiliation of a divorce.

Director:

Ira Sachs

Writers:

Ira Sachs (screenplay), Oren Moverman (screenplay)

Stars:

Chris Cooper, Patricia Clarkson, Rachel McAdams

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Chris Cooper	...	Harry Allen
Annabel Kershaw	...	Miss Jones
Pierce Brosnan	...	Richard Langley
Patricia Clarkson	...	Pat Allen
Rachel McAdams	...	Kay Nesbitt
Sheila Paterson	...	Mrs. Walsh
David Richmond-Peck	...	Tom
Erin Boyes	...	Becky
Elijah St. Germain	...	Little Charlie
Terence Kelly	...	Dr. Anderson
Timothy Webber	...	Alvin Walters
Rebecca Codling	...	Photo Store Clerk
David Wenham	...	John O'Brien
Dolores Drake	...	Cinema Cashier
Malcolm Boddington	...	Well-Tailored Man

Storyline

The late 1940s. Richard Langley, a bachelor playboy, narrates a story that starts when his best friend, Harry Allen, invites him to lunch to tell Richard he's in love. Trouble is, Harry's already married to Pat; he worries Pat would be hurt too deeply by a divorce. Then, Harry's new love, Kay, joins them. Richard is smitten, so when he finds out that Pat may be in love with someone else but won't tell Harry because she fears he would be too hurt, Richard can't decide if he should let all the cats out of the bag. He'd unite pairs of lovers, but he'd lose Kay. Meanwhile, Harry decides that a swift end to Pat's life would be more kind than divorcing her. He buys poison. Murder will out?

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Plot Keywords:

divorce | best friend | poison | bachelor | widow | 

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Taglines:

Do you know what really goes on in the mind of the person with whom you sleep?

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some thematic elements and a scene of sexuality

Details

Official Sites:

Sony Pictures Classics [United States]

Country:

USA Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

28 March 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

Marriage

Filming Locations:

Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada

Box Office

Budget:

$12,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$55,851, 9 March 2008, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$1,506,998, 29 June 2008

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$2,843,997, 30 November 2008

Company Credits

Production Co:

Sidney Kimmel Entertainment, Anonymous Content, Firm Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

Richard Langley sees the film Pandora and the Flying Dutchman in a movie theater in 1949, two years before movie's release.

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Quotes

Kay Nesbitt: A woman needs to be loved, and that's true. But it's not the whole truth. She also needs somebody to love.

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Connections

References Road to Morocco (1942)

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Soundtracks

Nobody Knows The Trouble I've Seen
Performed by Kay Starr
Courtesy of Soundies. Inc.
By Arrangement with DePUGH MUSIC

User Reviews

Exciting and Suspenseful

I was at the premiere of Married Life tonight, and I must say, it's a winner! Some of the scenes in the movie rival the best Hitchcockian comedy of manners. Sachs is always leading us through the story on two levels. With one eye we are immersed and involved in the story, while the other floats at a distance and examines the four brilliantly portrayed characters as representations of the human condition.

Married Life surfs a fine line between the comic and the tragic that is uncomfortable to acknowledge. But humor definitely wins out in the end, leaving us with an ironic but optimistic view of the flaws that increasingly populate our public and private lives as we grow older. Cooper and Brosnan achieve a fascinatingly contradictory friendship between two men that is unlike any other I've seen on screen in a long time.