Sony Pictures Classics has endured a lot of trash talking lately, not just on this site but others. It’s been awhile since they have had a legitimate success, and because of that they’ve started to look like something of a lame duck. But just maybe they’re about to turn the whole thing around. 2008 could be big for Sony Classics. A few weeks ago they acquired the best movie of Sundance 08 in The Wackness, and tonight I’ve stumbled on a great bunch of great clips from a rather under the radar, upcoming SPC flick called Married Life.
With a cast this good it’s hard to believe we haven’t been hearing more about this. Pierce Brosnan, Chris Cooper, Rachel McAdams, Patricia Clarkson, and the underutilized David Wenham star in a stylish, darkly humorous crime and relationship melodrama. Quick plot synopsis: Husband Harry (Chris Cooper) falls in love with someone else (Rachel McAdams) and decides he has to kill his wife to spare her from suffering him leaving her. Meanwhile, his best friend has also fallen for the same dreamgirl, and things go awry as Harry races to knock off his ball and chain.
I seriously doubt my hack plot synopsis does it justice. You’ll have to watch the clips. The production design is dark and sexy, Brosnan and Cooper are spot on. This looks like a great little flick to keep an eye out for, whenever it finally rolls into your town.
Of course the mere fact that Married Life opens next week on March 7th and we’ve heard almost nothing about it till now sort of underscores the problem I and a lot of the others had with Sony Pictures Classics' acquisition of The Wackness. If they can't get the word out on a movie like this, loaded with big name stars and easily marketed potential, what hope is there for a little movie like The Wackness? My fear is that even though The Wackness is a great flick with massive, broad appeal SPC won’t bother to tell audiences it exists, and it’ll slip unnoticed in and out of theaters, the way Married Life seems like it’s about to.
I hope I’m wrong, because Married Life looks good and The Wackness is a gem. Check out the trailer and four clips from Married Life's below:
CLIP 2
CLIP 3
CLIP 4
TRAILER
