Sunday, January 06, 2013
As there weren't any new releases in the week before Christmas, I rented a new release DVD for the weekend review on a film I'd missed out on during the year. So here's a belated post of the review.
Hope Springs (M)
MARITAL problems can spread far and wide in households that
are brought up on traditional values and morals, those without (or with) steady
incomes and those where the children have grown up and moved out. The idea of a
picture perfect marriage is simply a myth in which those even in the lowest
point of their relationships hold onto for the hope of happier being.
What people during their lives should be told to expect is
that even the greatest of marriages have terrible years. Dr Feld (Steve Carell)
is that guy. When Kay (Meryl Streep) and Arnold (Tommy Lee Jones) go to a
week’s worth of counselling with him they’re told, as they should be, is that
they still have to work to make it work.
Arnold’s a bit of a cantankerous creature though, angry at
himself and the world for no apparent reason. It’s a huge burden on Kay, who
initiated the ‘vacation’ because of a lack of intimacy. Their journey then fast
becomes one of re-exploring their sexual selves, starting basic with a simple
touch and developing further.
A mix of comedy and drama ensues as you learn more about the
two, in their interactions with one another as well as the difficult sessions
with Dr Feld. The middle-aged couple trying to rekindle the fire come across as
virginal teenagers in their overwhelming uncertainty, but scenes of the nature
are handled deftly to represent an overall situation many struggle with in
their own lives.
Kay finds it difficult to think outside a generic frame of mind when it comes to the bedroom, while Arnold is just unsure about the need to be paying so much money to talk to someone. There are constant questions of why, as there should be with a scenario involving a therapist, but some of those refuse to be answered.
Dr Feld is an enigma to them both, as to us, nothing given
away about his character outside his counselling centre. Carell shows more of
his serious side to effect but it’s a two-man show between the troubled couple,
director David Frankel using the strength of Streep and Jones to carry the
first screenplay by Vanessa Taylor high.
Frankel first directed Streep in The Devil Wears Prada, a film with a strong but fragile female
antagonist. Here, Kay is weak and lonely, a seemingly opposite protagonist, but
Streep grows into her character as Kay continues to rediscover her former life
and how to reclaim it. Jones’ cranky exterior is also shattered as Arnold
realises he has nothing to lose.
Being comfortable with awkwardness is the first step to any
form of recovery regardless of what anyone tells you. From there it’s usually
either a laugh or lots of tears, but this story blends a mix of emotions
gently. So, let’s talk about sex baby.
Rating: 3/5*Published in the Daily Liberal (Dubbo), Western Advocate (Bathurst), Parkes Champion Post and Midstate Observer (Orange) from Saturday 22/12/2012
***
Today's affirmation: I don't have to be directed by anything outside myself. God is within me, and the infinite and divine power that gives me sustenance as a human being is always there.
Why?
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