Let's get the important stuff out of the way first. The performances in this are fantastic- by that I mean the two leads- hopefully Close will finally get the Oscar she so richly deserved (and was denied) for Dangerous Liaisons (better film and performance). Pryce actually has the harder part, trying to humanize this well worn caricature of the insecure, unfaithful, almost irredeemable husband with hardly a single good trait. He succeeds so well that it is not until you process the film later that you realize how tilted the playing field has been. That is usually the mark of an insecure writer/filmmaker who fears if they don't "stack the deck" , the audience will reach the "wrong" conclusions- have a little faith and maybe let him be a good father or be a shmuck but a faithful one- muddy up the waters and give us something substantial to ruminate on . The premise of the film is embarrassingly simplistic- but it is not without possibilities. As the film drew to its close I couldn't help but think to myself "I can fix this- do you want me to fix this?"
(I don't do "Star" ratings because I'm not a grade school teacher.)
