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Long-Lasting Marriages

Jerry and Marge Go Large

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2022, USA, 96 min. 

Since retiring, Jerry (Bryan Cranston) faces a string of endless days in his small Michigan town. During one, he reads the tiny print of a lottery game. Jerry, a math whiz, is stunned by his calculations. If he buys a certain number of tickets, he’s guaranteed to win and the more he spends, the more he gets. When his wife, Marge (Annette Bening), learns Jerry has been (successfully) testing his theory, she’s all in. “Let’s be stupid,” she says. “We need something for us.” The pair make regular road trips to buy tickets in Massachusetts, first for themselves, and then for seemingly the entire town in what becomes a lucrative investment strategy. But will the success last? What elevates Jerry and Marge Go Large beyond its “did-this-really-happen?” story line are Cranston and Bening’s winning performances as the long-married couple that find their second wind by throwing caution to it. Touching and authentic, the movie (based on a true story) never cheapens its characters or their journey. 

The Verdict

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1982, USA, 129 min.

Boozy Boston ambulance chaser Frank Galvin (Paul Newman) has been in free fall since his attempt to do the right thing got him fired from his prestigious law firm. Galvin is handed a lifeline by his friend (Jack Warden): a medical malpractice suit where everyone, including the hospital run by the Archdiocese of Boston, wants to settle. Affected by the plaintiff’s vegetative state and enraged by the church’s indifference, Galvin takes the case to trial. His fight against the powerful status quo (led by high-powered and ruthless attorney Ed Colcannon, played by James Mason) becomes a battle for his soul. “IF… if we are to have faith in justice, we need only to believe in ourselves,” Galvin tells the jury. “And ACT with justice. See, I believe there is justice in our hearts.” This riveting and tense redemption/courtroom drama, written with typical verve and energy by David Mamet, is driven by Newman’s and Mason’s masterful performances.  

 

Supernova

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2021, UK, 95 min.

Married couple Sam (Colin Firth) and Tusker (Stanley Tucci) take their camper through the English countryside, a pleasant distraction from the latter’s dementia diagnosis. There’s gentle bickering, visits with friends and bucolic beauty to spare. But the signs of Tusker’s decline—the inability to put on a shirt, the wandering—are impossible to ignore and cannot erase a building conflict. Tusker, a writer, knows his fate and sees no point in prolonging the inevitable; Sam wants to play the role of doting spouse, to see their relationship end at death do us part. Writer-director Harry Macqueen prefers compassion over morality in exploring the spousal caretaker-patient relationship. If a person facing a terminal illness chooses to end their life, should a loved one honor that wish or fight for more time? Sam and Tusker’s exploration of that question is poignant and even-handed, the kind of development people have every day. Viewers will be riveted by this mature love story and reminded how listening and honesty enrich every worthy relationship.

 

The Leisure Seeker

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2017, Italy/France, 112 min.

To the shock and consternation of their family and friends, Ella and John Spencer (Helen Mirren, Donald Sutherland) unexpectedly leave town in the Leisure Seeker, their ancient, long-retired RV. Officially, the trip from Massachusetts to Ernest Hemingway’s house in Key West is so John can visit his literary idol’s home before his faculties fade away. As the bickering couple steer through campsites and diners, the depth of their relationship emerges, as does Ella’s reason for taking a seemingly impromptu trip. The movie is a striking, bittersweet ode to living life on your own terms—even if conventional wisdom begs you to stick close to home. Sutherland and Mirren, as you would expect, are outstanding, portraying the sweet highs and combative lows of a couple who can’t stand each other but can’t bear to be apart. Even better, their portrayals serve as an endorsement for marriage and for living the golden years with unabashed dignity. Ella and John’s final chapter takes place on America’s open roads, not in the sterile orderliness of a nursing home, and that gives the movie inspirational heft. 

Breathing Lessons

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1994, USA, 93 min.

Before Ira and Maggie Moran (James Garner and Joanne Woodward) begin to travel from Baltimore to Pennsylvania for a funeral, she’s already wrecked the car and he’s gotten an earful from his cantankerous dad. As the day twists and turns into an attempt to reconcile their rudderless son (Tim Guinee) with his long-estranged ex (Kathryn Erbe), the couple bickers, makes up and revisits the ups and downs of their 29 years of marriage. Garner and Woodward are so guileless and comfortable together that it feels like we’re traveling with old friends, with a backseat view into a battle-tested marriage. You win some. You lose some. Most importantly, you have somebody with whom you want to face the highs, the lows and all the unglamorous moments in between. In this quietly charming adaptation of Anne Tyler’s novel, one of the perks of getting older is acquiring the ability to move on.

The Wash

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1988, USA, 94 min.

Written by Philip Kan Gotanda, this is the story of a Japanese-American woman in her 60s who, defying the convention that would have her endure an unhappy marriage, decides to leave her husband of 40 years. Eight months after Masi has left her gruff, stubborn husband, Nobu, for an apartment of her own, she starts seeing another man but continues to stop by weekly to do Nobu’s laundry. In time, a new romance blossoms, much to the dismay of Nobu and their two grown daughters. Masi’s request for a divorce so she can marry her new boyfriend is an angry confrontation and we see that for all the happiness of the new couple, the claims of the past weigh heavily.

The Wedding Gift

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1994, UK, 87 min.

A BBC original, The Wedding Gift is based on a true story about a woman faced with a terminal illness that defies medical diagnosis. Diana (Julie Walters) and Deric (Jim Broadbent), her devoted husband, have an ideal marriage: they thrive in each other’s company, they’re funny, and they enjoy their two grown children and Deric’s dotty mother. Deric has taken on the round-the-clock responsibilities of caring for Diana, resulting in the near-collapse of his lingerie business. As Diana’s condition worsens, she decides to plan her husband’s future and convinces Deric, an aspiring writer, to attend a writer’s convention. There he meets Aileen Armitage, a blind novelist to whom he is attracted. Deric’s future is set in motion. You will want to note the role of humor in this film and the ways in which characters deal with physical decline, caretaking and the end of life.

45 Years

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2015, UK, 95 min.

Kate and Geoff Mercer (Charlotte Rampling and Tom Courtenay) are set to celebrate their 45th wedding anniversary in lavish style when Geoff receives word that the body of his former lover, who died in a hiking accident 50 years ago, has been unearthed. A previously undiscussed and unpleasant element gets thrust into an otherwise perfectly fine marriage. Geoff can’t put the possibilities of yesteryear behind him, while Kate—who publicly disdains hearing about this mystery woman—cannot keep herself from learning more. Director-writer Andrew Haigh, working from David Constantine’s story, slowly peels away the layers of the couple’s simmering discontent and reveals that time, silence and romantic gestures cannot repair battered, intertwined souls. The accumulated weight of our secrets can topple us. Rampling delivers a probing, searing performance as a woman who questions her marriage more with each passing day.