Married Life
Directed by Ira Sachs
By Robert Bell

The question “is happiness founded on the unhappiness of others?” is one of the main queries posed in this film, which is part exploration of the evolution of love, part comedy of manners and part psychological thriller. The answer to the question is undoubtedly yes, whether intentional or simply inevitable based on material concepts of happiness and the inherent socialized ignorance that stems from sheer survival and evolution. Married Life keeps psychological singularity in check by ensuring that each character is aware only of their own perspective and demonstrates this through frequent misperceptions and inaccurate projections. It delves into the subtle nature of betrayal, jealousy and desire in relation to social niceties that keep the more unsavoury aspects of human nature in check. After meeting young and attractive widow Kay Nesbitt (Rachel McAdams), Harry (Chris Cooper) has a “grass is greener” epiphany, given newfound passions that have long since disappeared from his marriage to his sexually frustrated wife Pat (Patricia Clarkson). Deciding that his wife would be unable to bear the pain of a life without him (or more accurately, he would be unable to bear the guilt), he makes the decision to painlessly murder her. When Harry’s best friend Richard (Pierce Brosnan) learns of the adultery and meets the young mistress, he decides that he must have her for himself, using guilt, self-respect and sheer whimsy to woo her. The group’s blind interactions are consistently intriguing, with Kay’s belief that she can “fix” individual world disappointment and Richard’s handy self-serving consideration reinforcing the dominant theme of “sincere when convenient.” While the performances are flawless and the writing is certainly insightful, the film doesn’t completely succeed, suffering from a lack of dramatic ire when secrets are revealed and never fully finding the comedic footing it aims for. The DVD includes commentary from writer/director Ira Sachs and three alternate endings that leave the film with slightly different feelings. Going with the second alternate ending would have given an ironic spin to the tale, while choosing the drawn out first one would have ruined the overall impact. (Equinox)
Film Reviews: The Twilight Saga: New Moon - Dir. by Chris Weitz
Film Reviews: Planet 51 - Dir. by Jorge Blanco
Film Reviews: Mary and Max - Dir. by Adam Elliott
Film Reviews: The Blind Side - Dir. by John Lee Hancock
Film Reviews: Fantastic Mr. Fox - Dir. by Wes Anderson
Film Reviews: Precious: Based on the Novel “Push” by Sapphire - Dir. by Lee Edwards
Film Reviews: Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans - Dir. by Werner Herzog
Videogame Reviews: GTA IV: The Ballad of Gay Tony [Xbox 360]
Videogame Reviews: Dragon Age: Origins [Multi-platform]
Dvd Reviews: The Limits Of Control - Dir. by Jim Jarmusch
Dvd Reviews: In The Loop - Dir. by Armando Iannucci
Dvd Reviews: I Sell the Dead - Dir. by Glenn McQuaid
Dvd Reviews: Thirst - Dir. by Park Chan-wook
Dvd Reviews: Up - Dir. by Pete Docter
Dvd Reviews: Brüno - Dir. by Larry Charles
Dvd Reviews: Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian - Dir. by Shawn Levy
Dvd Reviews: The Transformers The Complete Series
Dvd Reviews: Franklyn - Dir. by Gerald McMorrow
Dvd Reviews: My One and Only - Dir. by Richard Loncraine
Dvd Reviews: My Effortless Brilliance - Dir. by Lynn Shelton
Music DVD Reviews: Marilyn Manson - Guns, God and Government Live in L.A. [Blu-Ray]
Dvd Reviews: Monty Python: Almost the Truth The Laywer’s Cut
Dvd Reviews: Battlestar Galactica: The Plan - Dir. by Edward James Olmos
Film Reviews: The Horse Boy - Dir. by Michel Orion Scott
Film Reviews: Love & Savagery - Dir. by John N. Smith
Film Reviews: Pirate Radio - Dir. by Richard Curtis
Film Reviews: I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell - Dir. by Bob Gosse
Film Reviews: 2012 - Dir. by Roland Emmerich
Film Reviews: The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day - Dir. by Troy Duffy
Film Reviews: Antichrist - Dir. by Lars von Trier
Film Reviews: Prom Night in Mississippi - Dir. by Paul Saltzman
Music DVD Reviews: Brutal Truth - For the Ugly and Unwanted: This Is Grindcore
Music DVD Reviews: Bob Marley - Stations of the Cross
Dvd Reviews: Aliens in the Attic - Dir. by John Schultz
Dvd Reviews: National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation: 20th Anniversary Collector’s Edition [Blu-ray] - Dir. by Jeremiah S. Chechik
Dvd Reviews: Kathy Griffin: She’ll Cut a Bitch - Dir. by Paul Miller
Dvd Reviews: The Ugly Truth - Dir. by Robert Luketic
Dvd Reviews: Merry Sitcom! Christmas Classics From TV’s Golden Age
Dvd Reviews: Animation Express
Dvd Reviews: Passchendaele - Dir. by Paul Gross
Dvd Reviews: Bald - Dir. by Blake Leibel
Dvd Reviews: Mystery Science Theater 3000 XVI
Dvd Reviews: Film Noir Classics 1 - Dir. by Various
Dvd Reviews: The L-Word: The Complete Final Season
Dvd Reviews: G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero Box Set
Dvd Reviews: Il Divo - Dir. by Paolo Sorrentino
Film Reviews: The Box - Dir. by Richard Kelly
Film Reviews: The Fourth Kind - Dir. by Olatunde Osunsanmi
Film Reviews: A Christmas Carol - Dir. by Robert Zemeckis
Film Reviews: Gentlemen Broncos - Dir. by Jared Hess
Film Reviews: Inside Hana’s Suitcase - Dir. by Larry Weinstein
Music DVD Reviews: Damon & Naomi - 1001 Nights
Music DVD Reviews: Leonard Cohen & His Army - Leonard Cohen Live at the Isle of Wight 1970
Music DVD Reviews: Roxy Music - The Story of Roxy Music: More Than This
Dvd Reviews: Orphan [Blu-Ray] - Dir. by Jaume Collet-Serra
Dvd Reviews: G. I. Joe — Season 1.2
Dvd Reviews: The Taking of Pelham 123 - Dir. by Tony Scott
Dvd Reviews: The Narrows - Dir. by Francois Valle
Dvd Reviews: The Answer Man - Dir. by John Hindman
Dvd Reviews: Easy Rider — 40th Anniversary Edition [Blu-Ray] - Dir. by Dennis Hopper
Dvd Reviews: Monsters Vs. Aliens - Dir. by Rob Letterman and Conrad Vernon
Film Reviews: More than a Game - Dir. by Kristopher Belman
Film Reviews: Amreeka - Dir. by Charion Dabis
Film Reviews: The Collector - Dir. by Marcus Dunstan
Film Reviews: Bronson - Dir. by Nicolas Winding Refn
Dvd Reviews: Vega$: The First Season — Volume 1
Dvd Reviews: Stan Helsing - Dir. by Bo Zenga
Dvd Reviews: Spin City: Season Three
Dvd Reviews: Natural Born Killers — Director’s Cut - Dir. by Oliver Stone
Dvd Reviews: Frownland - Dir. by Ronald Bronstein
Dvd Reviews: Flashpoint: The First Season
Dvd Reviews: Afterwards - Dir. by Gilles Bourdos
Film Reviews: Michael Jackson’s This Is It - Dir. by Kenny Ortega
Film Reviews: Three Blind Mice - Dir. by Matthew Newton
Film Reviews: The September Issue - Dir. by R.J. Cutler
Film Reviews: Astroboy - Dir. by David Bowers
Film Reviews: Amelia - Dir. by Mira Nair
Music DVD Reviews: Various - The Secret Policeman Rocks!
Music DVD Reviews: The Beatles - Rare and Unseen
Music DVD Reviews: The Moody Blues - Live at the Isle of Wight Festival 1970
Music DVD Reviews: All the Way From Michigan Not Mars - Dir. by Matt Boyd
Dvd Reviews: Gigantic - Dir. by Matt Aselton
Dvd Reviews: The Proposal - Dir. by Anne Fletcher
Dvd Reviews: Andy Barker, P.I. The Complete Series
Dvd Reviews: 30 Rock Season 3
Dvd Reviews: High School Record - Dir. by Ben Wolfinsohn
Dvd Reviews: I Love You, Beth Cooper - Dir. by Chris Columbus
Dvd Reviews: Year One - Dir. by Harold Ramis
Dvd Reviews: Superman/Batman: Public Enemies [Blu-Ray] - Dir. by Sam Liu
Dvd Reviews: Dead Snow - Dir. by Tommy Wirkola
Dvd Reviews: Nip/Tuck: Season Five, Part Two
Film Reviews: Taqwacore - Dir. by Omar Majeed
Film Reviews: The Men Who Stare At Goats - Dir. by Grant Heslov
Film Reviews: The Men Who Stare At Goats - Dir. by Grant Heslov
Do Make Say Think - Other Truths
Though they've never been predictable, twisting and turning down a veering path of whatever post-rock is supposed to be, Do Make Say Think strike a reflective tone on the wondrous Other Truths. By their own reckoning, Do Make's previous acclaimed record, You, You're a History in Rust, ... Full Review
King Khan
Montreal ex-pat King Khan has led a classically "rock'n'roll" lifestyle since leaving his home at 17, legally changing his name from Erich Khan to Blacksnake, and eventually relocating to Berlin. Since then, he's become renowned worldwide for his various garage, punk and soul projects, including the big-band soul project King Khan and the Shrines and his collaborative duo with Mark Sultan, the King Khan and BBQ Show.... Read More
Ian McCulloch of Echo & the Bunnymen
They don't call him Mac the Mouth for nothing. What was planned as an in-depth conversation about Echo & the Bunnymen with front-man Ian McCulloch, turned into mostly listening to the Mouth go to work in a brief 20-minute phone conversation.... Read More
Viewing the September 2008 Issue: • Contents Page • News • Click Hear • Articles --> On the Cover  •  Front Five  •  Points  •  Questionnaire  •  Release Dates  •  Research  •  Timeline  •  Videogames  •  Conversations • Music Reviews --> Recently Reviewed  •  Aggressive Tendencies  •  Beats & Rhymes  •  Destination Out  •  Frequencies  •  Groove  •  No Future  •  Pop Rocks  •  Wood, Wires & Whiskey  •  Concert Reviews • Motion Reviews --> Recently Reviewed  •  Dvd Reviews  •  Film Reviews  •  Music DVD Reviews  •  Videogame Reviews • Music School --> Label Life  •  Meet & Greet  •  Need to Know  •  What I Play • Contests • Contact --> About Us  • Advertising  • Distribution  • Getting Reviewed  • Getting Published  • Letters To The Editor  • Partnerships  • Subscriptions • Exclaim! Radio --> Aggressive Tendencies Radio  • Beats & Rhymes Radio  • Destination Out Radio  • Frequencies Radio  • Groove Radio  • No Future Radio  • Pop Rocks Radio  • Wood, Wires & Whiskey Radio • Exclaim! TV • Home & Latest Issue • Browse Issues