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