We Don't Live Here Anymore (2004)

JOHN CURRAN, OPUS 2

*** 2004. Based on Andre Dubus's We Don't Live Here Anymore: Three Novellas, WE DON'T LIVE HERE ANYMORE was directed by John Curran. A prize at Sundance for the screenplay. Two friends, two couples, two sordid affairs. The film is very depressing and is only worth a look if you're interested in the problems of married couples and that's also unfortunately its limit because John Curran is not Ingmar Bergman and never manages to give a universal dimension to his script. Already forgotten. April 19, 2008

Tragic and heartbreaking; one of the purest and most effective looks into the lives of the married...

There is something so hauntingly real about `We Don't Live Here Anymore' that you end up walking away from this movie feeling dirty; like a sinner. I remember the first time I watched this I wept because I felt every ounce of pain and regret and fear and guilt that was running through the veins of the characters on the screen. I remember that I felt those same feelings when reading Andre Dubus' brilliant novella's that inspired this film (all of which can be found in the compellation work `We Don't Live Here Anymore'). Director John Curran marvelously brought to the screen one of the finest films I think ever made about marriage and relationships and the tragedy of the affair.

The reason I mention that you feel dirty when watching this film is that the characters, as horrible and unsympathetic as they are, are truly relatable in the most complex and emotional ways. Jack feels lost in a marriage he doesn't want. He feels like his wife doesn't work for his affection anymore; that she's grown complacent. Terry feels neglected and unwanted, unloved and alone. Hank, drifting away in his own little world, doesn't cherish Edith the way that he should because monogamy is not something he believes in. Edith, feeling neglected and slighted, seeks out the affections of a man who truly desires and values her. Each character, flawed as they are, is real and grounded. This has a lot to do with the performances by the very talented cast, but I'll get to that in a moment.

So the film follows the torrid affair between Jack Linden and Edith Evans. Jack is married to Terry and Edith to Hank, and the four of them are all great friends. It's apparent that Hank favors Terry and she has obviously fantasized about him as well, but she would never cheat on her husband unless she was coerced. When Jack and Edith's affair is uncovered by Terry that is just what happens. Jack, in an attempt to squash his own guilt, protests that she should give herself to Hank. This of course spirals down on all four of them as their actions end up crushing them in the end.

Mark Ruffalo has always been an actor I saw great things for. He has somewhat stayed under the radar for most of his career but her performances are never less than mesmerizing. As Jack he truly gets under the skin of his character and brings his all too real emotions to life. Laura Dern (screen goddess for many) delivers a brilliant performance here as well. As Terry she is immediately the most sympathetic of the characters. She is not the one in the initial affair and she truly loves her husband. In the end we feel as though these events have scarred her deepest. Peter Krause delivers a fine performance as Hank, but the film seems less interested in him than anyone else in the cast. We are aware that he is struggling to write something important, to right something he loves and that he is more invested in his work than his wife but he never seems to be too important to us.

The real standout in this lineup is inarguably Naomi Watts. This actress is just superb in everything and the more I see her the more I am convinced that she is our next Kate Winslet (my screen goddess!). As Edith she creates such a real and emotionally connected character. Yes, she adulterous and we should be repelled by her actions, but the regret and guilt that racks her soul is enough to bring anyone to their knees. There is one scene in particular, when Edith retreats to her bedroom after a tryst with Jack and lays upon her bed, and on her face is etched these sincere and moving expressions and pain and fear, regret and agonizing guilt and every time I think of that one scene I'm more convinced of her never-ending talent.

In the end we can't help but think of the poor children who of course suffer more than anyone else when a marriage falls apart. There is a beautiful scene towards the end with Jack and his two kids that is moving and memorable and moralistic for a film of this nature.

I have complained before with a similar film (not really all that similar) about the `preachy' aspect of that said film. What I love so much about `We Don't Live Here Anymore' is that it doesn't beat you with its preconceived notions on the matter or adultery but rather allows you to decide for yourselves who is in the wrong, who is being wronged, who is suffering the most, so on and so forth. We are shown these four characters and are exposed to their lives and their actions and that is all. There is no monologue explaining the woes of cheating on your spouse. There is no moral dictated to us at the films conclusion. We are shown these characters with all their warts and moles in clear view and we are asked to decide for ourselves what we think of them. This is a beautiful way of allowing the audience to become one with the film and find themselves amidst the chaos.

One thing that is clear by the time the credits role is that these marriages were over long before the affairs were started. When I think of the title `We Don't Live Here Anymore' I can't help but relate it to that feeling you have when you're disconnected from the one you are supposed to love indefinitely. It's almost as if you don't live in the same home anymore. You sleep in the same bed, under the same roof yet you feel as though you aren't really there.

That is the point of this film.

Affairs don't break marriages; broken marriages start affairs.

`We Don't Live Here Anymore' is a very difficult film to get through, especially if you've ever been the victim of an affair. The film is gritty and very real and so emotions are bound to stir. If you feel as though you can make it through this one I feel you'll be glad you did. It's one of the purest and most remarkable looks at the mystery known as marriage. February 25, 2008

True to form couples' drama

This film never makes excuses for its infidelity but instead shows the humanity of it. The characters are not only caught between love and lust, but between unfulfilling love and idealistic love. All actors are solid and the script is airtight. I appreciated the interpretation of these short stories and the direction smartly focused on the emotional throughline. Mark Ruffalo and Laura Dern share some great scenes, and prove that they can pull off any role. August 10, 2007

Over Acting for Beginners

More bad acting and false passion than any human can stand. If you can empathise with any of these characters see a doctor. January 23, 2007

and the winner for best casting is . . . ?

I don't wish to be irreverent, but my main response to this story was that Jack and Edith and Hank and Terry seemed much more physically and emotionally suited to each other than their mates. For one thing, Terry (Dern) was taller than Jack (Ruffalo), and sort of stooped over him in certain scenes (menacingly, not unlike her father, in movies of yore). I suppose the idea was that the domain of marriage is really the realm of interiority. But, frankly, I feel the physical has a lot to do with it. Whether this phenomenon was intended by the filmakers or not, I could not quite fathom. I guess by beginning mise en scene, the original relationships between the mates never get established as much as their new loves, especially the heated affair between Jack and Edith.
But, if it were the case that they had found more suitable partners in their friends' spouses, why did the couples not simply accept the way of nature and hang out as a merry foursome? I believe the what was implied was that the physical attraction was fueled, in part at least, by the covert nature of the relationships and their proximity, rather than the possibility that marital exclusivity is a social form whose basic functions and values are increasingly perceived as relative to the primary importance child rearing.
And it must be noted that the child acting in the sophisticated contexts of the film is uniformally superb. As far as the adult acting: Naomi Watts is a superstar in her generation - an actress of insight and power reminiscent in a certain way of the young Tuesday Weld - but generations beyond in subtlety and depth. I cannot express my gratitude enough for her openess, generosity, and courage in her examination of female sensuality in all her films. Her undeniable beauty, which seems to grow more profound as her characters sink into the depths of tragedy, is framed very well in this one. The other three all have their moments (and bless Ruffalo for openly opposing the war) - as does the script - although, I will say that as a teacher at a small college, if I ever spoke to a young student as Hank does in a number of scenes, I would be in serious violation of my obligation to the community. I do not know if this lack of realism was unconscious on the part of the film-makers, or simply irresponsible in the attempt characterize the dark, reckless side of Hank - but the public ought to know that that type of talk is monitored in most schools.
In the final analysis, almost in spite of its intentions, but most sadly, not quite, the whole comes off as a rather soporific soap, rather than the serious pyschodramatic investigation it wants to be. November 24, 2006

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