Married Life - March 2008

A wry blend of dark humor, romantic deception, and stylish melodrama—with an invigorating dash of suspense—Married Life is an unconventional fable for grown-ups about the irresistible power and utter madness of love. After decades of marital contentment, Harry (Chris Cooper) concludes that he must kill his wife Pat (Patricia Clarkson) because he loves her too much to let her suffer when he leaves her. Harry has fallen hard for the young and lovely Kay (Rachel McAdams), but his best friend Richard (Pierce Brosnan) wants to win Kay for himself. As Harry implements his maladroit plans for murdering his wife, the other characters are entangled with their own deceptions. Like Harry, they race towards their passions but trip over their scruples, seemingly well-intended towards all, but truthful to none. Married Life is an uncommonly adult film that surprises and confounds expectations. While it plays with mystery, comedy, and intrigue, its ultimate concern is: “What is married life?” In its sly way, Married Life poses perceptive questions about the seasonal discontents and unforeseen joys of all long-term relationships.

Directed by Ira Sachs
Produced by William Horberg, Alix Madigan, David Nicksay and Adam Shulman
Written by Oren Moverman and Ira Sachs (screenplay) John Bingham (novel)
Release Date: March 7, 2008
Genre: Crime / Drama / Romance
Rating: PG-13

Casts:

• Chris Cooper as Harry Allen
• Patricia Clarkson as Pat Allen
• Rachel McAdams as Kay
• Pierce Brosnan as Richard Langley

A 1940s-set drama where an adulterous man plots his wife's death instead of putting her through the humiliation of a divorce.
It's the story of a middle-aged man who is married, and who falls in love with another woman, but he's such a gentle figure, so he decides that to divorce his wife would humiliate her too much, so it's better to kill her.