Married Life (2006/Sony Blu-ray + DVD-Video)
Picture:
B/C+ Sound: B/C+ Extras: B- Film: B-
Since he
was dropped from the James Bond films, Pierce Brosnan has picked some very odd
and unhelpful films to do, none of which have helped his case as a good actor
or star. Finally, he has landed a very
interesting drama in Ira Sachs’ surprisingly smart, mature relationship drama Married Life (2006) as he and a
potential friend (Chris Cooper) find themselves in overlapping
relationships. Harry (Cooper) is married
to Pat (Patricia Clarkson) and their long marriage is in some trouble. She is seeing another younger man and he is
seeing a very attractive woman (Rachel McAdams) who happens to be seeing
Richard (Brosnan).
That
would be bad enough on his own, but Harry starts believing he is in love with
Richard’s new find, so much so that he is ready to kill his wife and make it
look like an accident in order for them to be together for the rest of their
lives, but he does not intend to tell anyone about his plot and is convinced
everyone will believe it is happenstance that she is dead and another younger
woman happens to be there. Though some
of this is drama we have seen before, the combination of maturity, realism,
good performances, tension, suspense and some character study make the film
compelling viewing throughout. Brosnan
can hold his own and is also the narrator.
The 1080p
1.85 X 1 digital High Definition image is a little softer and grainier than you
might expect for a new film, though not extensively so, but the anamorphically
enhanced DVD is poorer and the great Director of Photography Peter Deming,
A.S.C., delivers intimate compositions seamlessly throughout without it seeming
claustrophobic. Color is better on the
Blu-ray and the production design and costumes are a plus. The Dolby True HD 5.1 mix on the Blu-ray is much
better than the Dolby Digital 5.1 on the DVD, with well-recorded dialogue, good
sound editing and ambiance that gives the fell of the time convincingly enough. Why the gap, who knows, but the Blu just
sounds that much warmer and better. The
only extras besides BD Live functions exclusively on the Blu-ray includes three
alternate endings worth seeing after you finish the film and a decent feature
length audio commentary by Sachs on the film.
- Nicholas Sheffo
