(2007) 57% (%) 11) http://movies.nytimes.com/2008/03/07/movies/07marr.html * * * * "See my profile for the key to this code" * * * * SYNOPSIS: "In a late 1940's suburban world, middle-class wives, like Pat (Patricia Clarkson), build their lives around their husbands. Pat and Harry (Chris Cooper) seem happy, but Harry confesses to his pal, Richard (Pierce Brosnan), that the spark is gone. He plans to leave Pat for vibrant young war widow Kay (Rachel McAdams). Once Richard, a notorious ladies man, gets a look at the platinum blonde, he secretly sets out to win her affections and Harry continues to plot to take Pat out of the picture. While he debates on when to make his move, we learn that Pat actually has a few secrets of her own." CONSENSUS: "Married Life" daintily dances between black comedy and noir thriller, but it suffers from tonal shifts and uneven pacing." MOTIVATION FOR ME TO SEE: In 2005, I saw that James Bond, er, Pierce Brosnan had won a Golden Globe for "The Matador" and my view of his talent was forever changed. Patricia Clarkson ("The Station Agent" - 2003; "Pieces of April" - 2003; "Lars and the Real Girl" - 2007; "Vicki Christina Barcelona" - 2008; and on my next list, "Phoebe in Wonderland" - 2009) is gold, as is Chris Cooper. MY THOUGHTS: Cooper and Clarkson are so good; a mannerism here, a glance there. Brosnan keeps things light, but McAdams is miscast in a one-note performance. The production values are excellent; one feels that one is inhabiting 1949. Lots of Hitchcockian similarities without the payoff.

posted Jul 12, 2009 at 11:05PM

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