We Don't Live Here Anymore

Closer, which is essentially about the same thing, didn't impress me at the time, and, interestingly, two films with the same theme can evoke such contradictory emotions in me. I could say that John Curran's film bored me, and it would be true that at least every other scene, actually every scene, was about three times longer than it should have been. But that's only part of the truth because, in reality, this drama rather irritated me. I had an intense feeling that they were just playing with grand messages and emotions here, that it was sophisticated kitsch for festival audiences. Of course, Naomi Watts is appropriately charming, and let's be honest, those shameful scenes (which, again, I consider to be cheap bait for male viewers) are tempting, and Laura Dern is an excellent character actress, but it seemed to me that they didn't have much to do here. Marital crises are vividly depicted in countless dramas, and in this ranking, We Don't Live Here Anymore will definitely not be featured at the top. Overall impression: 40%. (06/10/2010)

Un excellent drame relationnel avec des dialogues sublimes et qui m’a énormément emballé, mais pas sans me glacer les sangs. L’ambiance étouffante qui s’abat sur le quatuor amoureux est intenable et la situation ne peut que dégénérer ; dans un quatuor, il y a toujours bien au minimum une personne qui perd ses plumes. Le seul acteur qui m’a posé problème, c’est Laura Dern. C’est un sentiment purement subjectif, mais je sais qu’elle est le poulain de Lynch et qu’elle brille dans tous ses films, or ici, elle ne convient pas et fait pâle figure à côté de Naomi Watts. (25/06/2008)