This movie does a rare thing - it gives an open, realistic look at intimacy in a mature marriage.
After 31 years, Kay and Arnold have settled into a functional life, structured by routine and sleeping in separate bedrooms. Kay longs to rekindle the flame she and Arnold once shared, so she pays for an intensive couples counselling course to which Arnold reluctantly attends. As the week unfolds, they are each challenged to see their role in a relationship in which they have both settled for OK, but not good.
The acting is great with Meryl Streep as the frustrated Kay and Tommy Lee Jones as the grumpy Arnold. Steve Carell is the couple's counsellor and it took me a while to get used to him in a serious role, I kept waiting for him to make a joke.
It was honest and confronting, both heartbreakingly sad and very funny. It did leave some questions unanswered (why had Arnold changed so much?). Also, I would not recommend it to unmarrieds, as the main issue in the counselling was intimacy, and so the discussions and ensuing scenes were very frank at points.
I suspect we will buy this one on DVD* to have as a resource for marriage enrichment, I can imagine us using scenes from it at times to illustrate various points!
*I saw this at the movies over 2 months ago, so it's probably not long now till the DVD comes out!
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