“Millers in Marriage” could also be set in fashionable occasions, however the ‘90s are by no means removed from the display.
Author/director Edward Burns dissects the travails of 50-somethings in mid-life crises. They pine for his or her youthful days, when “Seinfeld” dominated and AOL flooded the zone with Web CD-ROMs.
So does the movie, a throwback to storytellers who targeted on misplaced souls looking for life’s lacking elements. Assume “Strolling and Speaking,” “Singles” and, in fact, Burns’ “The Brothers McMullen” (1995).
Center-aged malaise not often will get a sober closeup like this, however too many story arcs fall into predictable ruts and by no means see their method out.
Burns lured a terrific solid to behave out his newest New York story. Meet Maggie (Juliana Margulies), a author married to a fading novelist named Nick (Campbell Scott).
Sure, two of the important thing characters are writers, one other is an artist and everybody clings to their Huge Apple roots. Burns takes the “write what you recognize” noticed severely, even placing the phrase in a single character’s mouth.
Gretchen Mol co-stars as Eve, a former indie singer who settled for all times with an unrepentant drunk (Patrick Wilson, misplaced in a one-note position). A music journalist (Benjamin Bratt) needs to do greater than interview Eve about her one-hit-wonder days, however she feels too outdated to shake up her life.
After which there’s Andy (a bearded Burns taking part in the generic, well-intentioned man). He’s relationship Renee (Minnie Driver) after escaping from the terrible Tina (Morena Baccarin).
Each Baccarin and Wilson ought to have held out for a rewrite of their poisonous characters.
The household ties barely matter within the movie (Eve, Maggie and Andy are siblings) past giving the title its enamel. It’s about marriages in decline, fueled by work disappointments, alcoholism or lives veering in numerous instructions.
It’s all positive dramatic fodder, and Burns has the chops to tug it off – not less than on paper. So why are so many subplots bland and predictable? Bratt resonates as a person who sees his good-looking visage fading alongside along with his profession targets.
He’s determined to save lots of Eve from her horrible marriage. Her reluctance is tough to course of regardless of Mol’s finest measures.
What’s lacking? A way of narrative shock. Why can’t a few of these characters disappoint not simply their spouses however subvert our expectations? Human nature is messy. The movie embraces that fact with out benefiting from it.
So we anticipate characters to get up, make a transfer or simply cease being passive-aggressive. A lethargy units in simply because the relationships must be coming into sharper focus.
Edward Burns’ MILLERS IN MARRIAGE starring Burns, Minnie Driver, Gretchen Mol, Julianna Margulies, Morena Baccarin, Benjamin Bratt, Patrick Wilson, and Campbell Scott will likely be in theaters and on digital VOD subsequent Friday. It had premiered on the Toronto Movie Pageant in September. pic.twitter.com/ROMAtnurf5
— Movie Pageant (@LifeIsAFilmFest) February 15, 2025
Don’t blame the solid. They profit from an uneven screenplay, every getting a second to shine. Eve’s frustrations over abandoning her profession for married life are acquainted but palpable. It’d assist to see extra of her now-grown kids to flesh out what she misplaced and gained by that call.
A number of quieter scenes crackle as companions reveal the boundaries of their affection. It’s nonetheless laborious to look at one more on-screen creator enduring “author’s block.” That movie cliché wants a 10-year sabbatical.
On the very least.
Burns, now 56, is the proper age to essay the love lives of older {couples}. It’s an unsexy subject ripe for indie storytellers.
“Millers in Marriage” appears just like the Burns characteristic we want from him now, however the outcomes show extra irritating than fulfilling.
HiT or Miss: “Millers in Marriage” explores the love lives of engaging, 50-something souls. What’s lacking is the perception the topic calls for.