Married Life

"This is my friend Harry Allen. He's married. He likes his wife. It can happen." The wit belongs to Richard (Pierce Brosnan), a confirmed bachelor whose outlook on life changes when Harry (Chris Cooper) introduces him to his beautiful young mistress, Kay (Rachel McAdams, under platinum blond locks). Harry wants to leave his wife, Pat (Patricia Clarkson), for Kay, but doesn't want to hurt Pat with the pain of a divorce. So while Richard plots to woo Kay from Harry, Harry decides to murder Pat. Set in the postwar '40s of middle-class affluence, the plot could easily twist into a '50s noir of cheating husbands and seductive sirens and the comforts of suburban life corrupted by lust and greed. Ira Sachs directs it as a wry comedy of manners, with a naturalistic style and cool sepia tones that evoke a yesteryear of lives lived in restraint and self-suppression. Cooper's performance is quietly heartbreaking, the man who has everything hiding his disappointment and frustration under a smile of weary resignation, while Clarkson hides hers under a façade of dispassionate logic. What begins as a cool, wry noir transforms into a mature and introspective conversation about love, marriage, and happiness in relationships.

Sachs provides great commentary, a real filmmaker's talk about inspirations and aspirations and the practical details of how to get there, and discusses working with all of his collaborators. Also features three alternate endings, one of them quite elaborate and full of levels and revelations on the way to a classically unforgiving noir ending. Available in standard DVD and Blu-ray.