Three stars. Rated R, for profanity
By Derrick Bang
Quite a few sharply perceptive
observations about human nature are contained within this modest dramedy from
writer/director Azazel Jacobs, which manages to be droll and forlorn in equal
measure.
Too bad it’s so s-l-o-w.
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| At home, although relieved to be away from their respective lovers, Mary (Debra Winger) and Michael (Tracy Letts) lack the energy — or willingness — to engage with each other. |
The film opens cleverly, as
Michael (Tracy Letts) has what we immediately sense is another in a symphony of
tiffs with his hot-tempered lover, Lucy (Melora Walters); elsewhere, Mary
(Debra Winger) works hard to allay the bubbling insecurity that afflicts her
lover, Robert (Aidan Gillen). One scene later, Michael and Mary slide silently
— resignedly — into bed next to each other, and we abruptly realize that they’re the married couple in this
roundelay.
This scenario’s arch humor
derives from the resignation with which Michael and Mary are conducting their
lives, and our certainty that they’ve been doing so for years. We assume that
this ennui results from their disenchantment with each other, but that’s not
quite right.
No, it’s the exhaustion that
results from maintaining the marital charade while essentially leading double
lives elsewhere, and the utter chaos into which their lives have been plunged:
friends long abandoned; lunches with co-workers forever put off; unpersuasive
lies fabricated clumsily; extended work hours, just to keep up, due to the
time-consuming nooners and afternoon assignations. It’s all exhausting.
And apparently not much fun. It
would seem that one of the reasons to have an affair would be the excitement
and novelty of the new: the
enthusiasm with which the lover is greeted each day. But if that ever motivated
Michael and/or Mary, it’s long past.
Michael has Lucy tagged as “Work”
on his smart phone, and we get the joke: It’s not merely to conceal her identity
from his wife, but a sly reference to the fact that this extra-marital
relationship is work. A lot of work. It seems understandable
self-defense when he lies to get out of an evening with the woman about whom he
constantly lies to his wife.
Mary, if asked, undoubtedly would
admit to being equally frustrated.
