MARRIED LIFE

MARRIED LIFE NEEDS A DIVORCE
All dolled up and no place to go. The mere power of the names acting in this film is enough to dazzle and entice, but that's it. It ends with the rental check out. A film-noir-ish style and great period costumes and props garner this film with much ado about nothing. Who's cheating on whom? Who knows they are cheating on the other's spouse? Who cares? Chris Cooper sleep walks through his role as the divided husband who wants to spare his wife (a wasted Patricia Clarkson) the news that he is divorcing her by killing her. And Pierce Brosnan is in it and Rachel McAdams tries really hard to look like Kim Novak. Did I leave anything out? It was entertaining, even in a mediocre, I've got nothing better to do on a rainy afternoon kind of way. The bad news is the ending. When a film comes with alternate endings it is a red flag that their work was not executed well enough to stay with just one. But in most all their alternates (and yes, there were several) the film flip-flopped from a lukewarm thriller to a hardcore drama. It just didn't work in ANY of those endings.
NOT a pick: Everything was set out to make the sandwich but someone had soup instead.