Married Life - B-

In theaters March 21. Rated PG-13, 90 minutes. Trailer.

Tonight I attended a preview screening of Married Life with a Q & A and reception with the film's star, Academy Award winner Chris Cooper (Best Supporting Actor, Adaptation). The film, which also stars Pierce Brosnan, Rachel McAdams, and Patricia Clarkson, is a cynical study of the complexities of marriage and sloppy morals. Cooper is a doting husband to his wife, played by Clarkson, even though he has found 'true love' with his mistress (played by McAdams). When he confides in his best friend (Brosnan, also the film's narrator), Brosnan immediately begins his pursuit of McAdams behind his friend's back. Click below for the rest of the review and pictures of my Chris Cooper meeting.

Ultimately Cooper chooses the easy way out....instead of telling his wife, he decides to poison her. The film doesn't turn into a horror film by any measure, but does get heavier than I expected based on the spunky advertising and poster. Cooper's choice and the odd and ultimate entaglement of the characters is meant as a sort of 'love the one your with' message, but presents a very cynical view of love and marriage.

The film, directed by Ira Sachs (Forty Shades of Blue) was nice to look at, with lots of rich colors and textures from the 1949 backdrop. McAdams was miscast here, though, and the platinum blonde minus mole concealer washed out some of her good looks. Cooper is excellent as the straightlaced but desperate man, while Brosnan provides a good humored birds eye view of the whole situation, even as he becomes entangled in it. This felt a little bit like Desperate Housewives meets Breach.

After the film was a 30 minute Q & A period with Cooper (at the Angelika Dallas). He talked about his various Texas roles (Lone Star, Lonesome Dove) and talked about living in a small town in Massachusetts. About halfway through the guy in front of me committed the worst faux pas I've ever been a part of...."The first time I really noticed you was in Black Hawk Down, blah, blah". Cooper just said "no, wasn't in that one". I couldn't believe someone committed such an obvious and cliched error, it was painful and embarassing for everyone in the audience. One questioner asked about the memories he uses for invoking tears, and he said he uses the substitution technique of a personal memory. Afterward we attended a reception with Cooper, and I got a chance to shake his hand and talk to him for a few minutes about his next project, tentatively titled Hurricane Mary. The screenplay was written by his wife and they are working on the financing right now, but he indicated it was tough to finance a movie about an attorney and kids with disabilities. Cooper's son recently passed away(in 2005, from Cerebal Palsy), and my assumption is that his personal experiences are the basis for the story, but I chose not to ask him about that. He was very polite and unassuming, giving genuine answers and seeming like a very 'regular' guy.

Viewing note: For all you Ticket fans out there, Corby Davidson was there.