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Married Life
Metascore
65 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 29 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 22 out of 29
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 29
  3. Negative: 0 out of 29
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  1. New York Magazine (Vulture)
    Reviewed by: David Edelstein
    80
    In Married Life, Ira Sachs aims a bit lower than Green but obliterates his target: The funny, the scary, the campy, the sad--they're all splendidly of a piece.
  2. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    75
    Is the movie about marriage, or sex, or murder, or the murder plot, or what? I'm not sure. It deals all those cards, and fate shuffles them. You may not like it if you insist on counting the deck after the game and coming up with 52. But if you get 51 and are amused by how the missing card was made to vanish, this may be a movie to your liking.
  3. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: Tasha Robinson
    75
    It seems carefully calibrated to shock viewers out of a familiar frame of reference, while leaving nothing behind to take its place.
  4. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: Joe Neumaier
    75
    It's a sly little fable with at least six very obvious homages to Alfred Hitchcock thrillers, and a dark little heart that happily hides under a double-breasted suit.
  5. San Francisco Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Mick LaSalle
    75
    It's a drama with elements of black comedy and suspense, European in feeling but American in attitude. Just for fun, it's set in 1949, an era of glamour, of Hitchcock and of husbands even more clueless than they are today.
  6. ReelViews
    Reviewed by: James Berardinelli
    75
    Chris Cooper, the consummate professional, has no trouble making viewers feel sympathy for a potential killer.
  7. Premiere
    Reviewed by: Ryan Stewart
    75
    A collection of Hitchcock character-types trample over each other to win at love in Married Life, a quirky but entertaining period murder farce.
  8. Charlotte Observer
    Reviewed by: Lawrence Toppman
    75
    This isn't a film noir, but it hovers in the shadows of that genre of discontent and disillusionment.
  9. Entertainment Weekly
    Reviewed by: Lisa Schwarzbaum
    75
    Married Life congratulates its audience on a sophisticated, humorous complicity in the obvious immorality of Harry's murder plans, as well as in Richard's own ungentlemanly designs on his pal's gorgeous girl. Every adult, the movie suggests, has got a secret.
  10. Seattle Post-Intelligencer
    Reviewed by: Sean Axmaker
    75
    It's all quite deftly played with a maturity and introspection that may take you by surprise, though Sachs is perhaps too restrained in parts.
  11. The A.V. Club
    Reviewed by: Scott Tobias
    75
    To a degree, the dynamic between Brosnan and Cooper resembles Aaron Eckhart and Matt Malloy's relationship from "In The Company Of Men."
  12. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Stephen Holden
    70
    This is the sort of gallows humor that Hitchcock relished drawing out in cruelly amusing cat-and-mouse games, not to be taken too seriously. The same is true of Married Life. The murder plot is not to be taken any more literally than the lethal games of "Mr. and Mrs. Smith."
  13. Slate
    Reviewed by: Dana Stevens
    70
    Married Life is a tony, well-upholstered vehicle that glides smoothly toward its destination-but despite an unnecessary and overly sentimental coda, that destination isn't necessarily where you thought you were going all along.
  14. Variety
    Reviewed by: Todd McCarthy
    70
    The tone, casting and material form a less-than-perfect match in Married Life, a period domestic drama that never quite decides if it wants to be a credible marital study, a noirish meller or a sly comedy.
  15. Washington Post
    Reviewed by: Desson Thomson
    70
    An engaging romance noir, a sort of updated "The Postman Always Rings Twice" that packs its surprises into four characters, none of them predictable.
  16. Austin Chronicle
    Reviewed by: Josh Rosenblatt
    67
    With its 1950s decor and upbeat ending (clever camouflage all), Married Life probably won't show up on the radar of James Dobson's Focus on the Family anytime soon, but at the risk of supplying the enemy with ammunition, I have to say they might be giving a pass to one of the more ethically dubious films to come out of Hollywood in years.
  17. Christian Science Monitor
    Reviewed by: Peter Rainer
    67
    A faltering attempt at black comedy mixed with romantic melodrama, Married Life is always on the verge of being interesting but never quite gets there.
  18. Miami Herald
    Reviewed by: Rene Rodriguez
    63
    Befitting a story about marriage, adultery and murder, all the characters in Married Life are constantly lying to each other. Sometimes they even lie to the audience.
  19. New York Post
    Reviewed by: Kyle Smith
    63
    Arch, wry and dry, with its exquisite wallpaper and impeccably blocked fedoras, Married Life is bracingly malicious noir for a while, a sort of gray-flannel-suit take on the Coen brothers' "Blood Simple." Every character seems morally capable of anything.
  20. Philadelphia Inquirer
    Reviewed by: Steven Rea
    63
    None of these elements quite come together, and while the clothes and props look authentic, the acting doesn't.
  21. Boston Globe
    Reviewed by: Ty Burr
    63
    Albeit slumming with style and a fairly sharp scalpel. Married Life delights in peeling back the bright postwar social veneer to expose the characters' hidden agendas, and if this is a mystery movie, the mystery is other people.
  22. The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
    Reviewed by: Kamal AL-Solaylee
    63
    The pleasant surprise is Brosnan. Actually, this shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone who's seen "The Matador" or "After the Sunset." The former Remington Steele and James Bond is maturing nicely and choosing some complex scripts to show off his acting chops.
  23. Empire
    Reviewed by: Staff (Not credited)
    60
    A quartet of great performances and gorgeous scenery go some way to compensating for some strange variances in tone.
  24. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: Ella Taylor
    60
    Though the imprint of Douglas Sirk is all over Sachs's homage to old movies about restless men in bad suits and untrustworthy women in lovely frocks, his immediate reference point is clearly Haynes's "Far From Heaven."
  25. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Carina Chocano
    60
    The appeal of the cast, the witty dialogue, the gorgeous costumes and production design, and the refreshingly grown-up subject matter can't be discounted. Maybe it is about compromise, after all, because though Married Life has its moments, it's bewildering as a whole.
  26. Portland Oregonian
    Reviewed by: Marc Mohan
    58
    Ultimately, the movie takes its characters, and the absurd ethical dilemma it subjects them to, far too seriously.
  27. Time
    Reviewed by: Richard Corliss
    50
    More a case history than a devious puzzle, the movie is like a story overheard from the next restaurant booth: for all your curiosity as to how it turns out, you're not likely to have much personal investment in the people.
  28. Chicago Reader
    Reviewed by: Andrea Gronvall
    50
    A macabre comedy of manners with the sting of dry ice, this 2007 ensemble piece captures the social climate of America in the late 40s, when a new anxiety and restlessness began to undermine the postwar optimism.
  29. Film Threat
    Reviewed by: Rick Kisonak
    40
    Despite the cast's capable portrayals, it's difficult to connect with or care about any of these characters as, one by one, each stabs another in the back.
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User Reviews

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User Score
7.4 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 8 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 5
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 5
  3. Negative: 0 out of 5
  1. Lopez17
    7
    Have you ever lied to someone you loved? Have you ever told them something about yourself wasn't true? Have you ever told them that you were working late when in reality you were not? Ira Sachs black comedy about marital woes and deception set against the backdrop of 1940's society is a bleak, smart and audaciously witty dramedy that leaves little to the imagination as it leads you down the road of murder most foul and deception most devious that plays better than it should and works better than you would ever expect. It is a story that an older generation can relate too as a younger one will overlook the film as dull and uninteresting. Let me tell you as a younger generation I completely sympathized and liked the characters even if they were all lying to each other it is fun to watch them skirt around the truth as they plot and scheme against one another in this twisted tale of love gone badly. Ira Sachs' "Married Life" is just as the title suggest it is about married life and the trials and tribulations that a married couple go through everyday the ups and downs Ira Sachs' blunt dramedy doesn't let you off the hook easy when it comes to theses themes but you won't shy away if that's what you think. It is very easy on the eyes, but as I said before most of the elder generation may find this film hard to watch as someone in their life has been cheated on or they themselves been cheated. it's a touchy subject believe me, but here that is not the case it's more about how love can easily fall apart as easily as it can be built, how the choices we make can affect the ones we love and how sometimes when we least expect it you fall in love with the last person you would expect. Ira Sachs shows us suburban life in the 40's that we seldom see today his film is a homage to the dark screwball comedies of the golden era and also a tribute to film noir with its stark lighting, it's wickedly sharp narrative and dialogue and gloomy undertones that give it that old time feel. What makes a film special is heart if a film has no heart it has no soul if a film has no soul it has no character and if a film has no character than what is it? I'll tell you nothing more than people walking around talking lines that should mean something and should leave a lasting effect, while "Married Life" doesn't leave a lasting impression on audiences it gives them a zany and quirky look into the love lives of four very normal yet strange individuals. I liked the atmosphere, I liked the style of the film how it worked but what I liked most of all was the narration by Pierce Brosnan it wasn't just about him but also about Harry(Chris Cooper) and his wife Pat(Patricia Clarkson). The narration doe not leave you out in the cold or leave you without answers to your questions and that to me is a major accomplishment of this film and one of the key highlights of the story and plot. What I did not like, and to me what almost undid all of this films accomplishment was the uneven pace if a little more even it would have been a great movie instead of good. Ira Sachs' "Married Life  may not impress all but it does impress with it's wit and charm and intelligent, well written dialogue that flows like water down a riverbed it just works. What also works about this film are the actors, the actors play off each other and the film's story beautifully making "Married Life" one of the more charming films you can seen in your spare time grant it this film was severely overlooked and immensely underrated when it was released back in 2008. While summer blockbusters like "Iron Man,  "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the crystal Skull" and "The Dark Knight  were dominating the box-office this film quietly made its run in limited release where few heard of it and seldom saw. I liked this film more than I thought I would and from what I saw I thought it would be better than what it was but for what it was it was fantastic and I am proud to say I very much enjoyed it.… Full Review »
  2. JayH.
    7
    Terrific cast, especially Chris Cooper and Patricia Clarkson. Compelling story, well directed. Good costumer and art direction, great score. Very interesting plot that held my interest throughout.… Full Review »
  3. StephenS.
    6
    If you reckon your partner’s been cheating, jolt them with this one. Ira Sachs’ debut neither aims for nor achieves greatness, but entertains well with its pleasing production design and measured but not unexpected plot turnings. Contrary to expectations, I thought Brosnan and McAdams were better served by their roles than Cooper and Clarkson. Cooper looks less well suited then he was in Breach, Clarkson doesn’t quite flow into the character as you would expect her to.… Full Review »
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