{"id":161606,"date":"2025-02-19T17:19:57","date_gmt":"2025-02-19T17:19:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hollywoodintoto.com\/?p=2042634"},"modified":"2025-02-19T17:19:57","modified_gmt":"2025-02-19T17:19:57","slug":"millers-in-marriage-stalls-just-when-its-ready-to-soar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gamefootballmobileanimeiphone.com\/index.php\/2025\/02\/19\/millers-in-marriage-stalls-just-when-its-ready-to-soar\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Millers in Marriage\u2019 Stalls Just When It\u2019s Ready to Soar"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cMillers in Marriage\u201d may be set in modern times, but the \u201890s are never far from the screen.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Writer\/director Edward Burns dissects the travails of 50-somethings in mid-life crises. They pine for their younger days, when \u201cSeinfeld\u201d ruled and AOL flooded the zone with Internet CD-ROMs.<\/p>\n

So does the film, a throwback to storytellers who focused on lost souls seeking life’s missing ingredients. Think \u201cWalking and Talking,\u201d \u201cSingles\u201d and, of course, Burns\u2019 \u201cThe Brothers McMullen\u201d (1995).<\/p>\n

Middle-aged malaise rarely gets a sober closeup like this, but too many story arcs fall into predictable ruts and never see their way out.<\/p>\n

\"YouTube<\/a><\/p>\n

Burns lured a terrific cast to act out his latest New York story. Meet Maggie (Juliana Margulies), a writer married to a fading novelist named Nick (Campbell Scott).<\/p>\n

Yes, two of the key characters are writers, another is an artist and everyone clings to their Big Apple roots. Burns takes the \u201cwrite what you know\u201d saw seriously, even putting the phrase in one character\u2019s mouth.<\/p>\n

Gretchen Mol co-stars as Eve, a former indie singer who settled for life with an unrepentant drunk (Patrick Wilson, lost in a one-note role). A music journalist (Benjamin Bratt) wants to do more than interview Eve about her one-hit-wonder days, but she feels too old to shake up her life.<\/p>\n

And then there\u2019s Andy (a bearded Burns playing the generic, well-intentioned guy). He\u2019s dating Renee (Minnie Driver) after escaping from the awful Tina (Morena Baccarin).<\/p>\n

Both Baccarin and Wilson should have held out for a rewrite of their toxic characters.<\/p>\n

The family ties barely matter in the film (Eve, Maggie and Andy are siblings) beyond giving the title its teeth. It\u2019s about marriages in decline, fueled by work disappointments, alcoholism or lives veering in different directions.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s all fine dramatic fodder, and Burns has the chops to pull it off – at least on paper. So why are so many subplots bland and predictable? Bratt resonates as a man who sees his handsome visage fading along with his career goals.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s desperate to save Eve from her terrible marriage. Her reluctance is hard to process despite Mol\u2019s best measures.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s missing? A sense of narrative surprise. Why can\u2019t some of these characters disappoint not just their spouses but subvert our expectations? Human nature is messy. The film embraces that truth without taking advantage of it.<\/p>\n

So we wait for characters to wake up, make a move or just stop being passive-aggressive. A lethargy sets in just as the relationships should be coming into sharper focus.<\/p>\n

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Edward Burns\u2019 MILLERS IN MARRIAGE starring Burns, Minnie Driver, Gretchen Mol, Julianna Margulies, Morena Baccarin, Benjamin Bratt, Patrick Wilson, and Campbell Scott will be in theaters and on digital VOD next Friday. It had premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in September. pic.twitter.com\/ROMAtnurf5<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Film Festival (@LifeIsAFilmFest) February 15, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n