By LORNA CHEROT LITTLEWAY
THE MILLERTON MOVIEHOUSE hosted a special screening of the film “Millers in Marriage” written and directed by Edward Burns, Saturday, December 21. The film had its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival in September. The cast includes several A-list New York and Hollywood actors.
The 2-hour film is a contemporary, melancholy character work of 50 something creatives, who are a bit lost in their professional lives and very much lost in unsatisfactory, long-term marriages. Though all have children they are currently empty nesters.
The Millers of the title are three siblings who live in Manhattan but have upstate homes or access to them. They are Andy, a painter, played by Burns (“Saving Private Ryan”); and two sisters, Maggie, a writer, played by Juliana Marguiles (“The Good Wife”), and Eve, a musician, played by Gretchen Mol (“Donnie Brasco”).
Their spouses too are creatives who find themselves in a bit of a rut. Maggie’s husband Nick, (Campbell Scott, “The Amazing Spider Man”), is experiencing severe writers block. Eve’s husband Scott, (Patrick Wilson, “The Phantom of the Opera”), is an alcoholic and manages rock bands. Andy’s wife, Tina, (Morena Baccarin, “Deadpool”), in search of something, has separated from him after 15 years, but now has regrets.
The cast is rounded out by two “Lothario” types – Johnny, a music critic, (Benjamin Bratt, “Law and Order”) and Dennis (Brian D’Arcy James, “Shrek the Musical”) a “born and raised local” caretaker; and Renee (Minnie Driver, “Good Will Hunting”) is Andy’s new love interest and Tina’s former boss.
From all appearances everyone is materially successful and lives comfortably, save perhaps Johnny, who writes articles for “Spin” and “Rolling Stone” magazines. Yet their dissatisfaction is palpable, reinforced by a somber music score throughout.
Says Johnny to Eve, whom he is interviewing for an article on the California’s 90s rock scene, “New York City is a young man’s town and a rich man’s city.” He is neither. Dennis remarks to Maggie, “There’s a lot of unhappy women here in the summer.” Both men are trying to charm their chosen women into a dalliance.
The film opens with Eve calling around to relatives and friends in search of her husband Scott, whom she has not heard from since he went to Seattle three days ago. We gradually learn that Eve was lead singer and songwriter for their band but stopped, at Scott’s insistence, when she became pregnant and swapped California for New York. Through the interview, Eve admits her husband is a “nasty, miserable drunk” who “sabotaged” her career. Johnny encourages her to “rediscover her voice” and resume singing and songwriting. Scott is dismissive and warns “he’s just trying to get into your pants.”
Maggie, a prolific writer, harangues Nick to start writing again, “Just write something, anything!” Aside from her prolifickness, Nick does not respect the content of Maggie’s writing mocking it as “elevating the banal.”
Tina learns of Andy’s new love interest when she unexpectedly shows up at his apartment for a “nightcap” when Renee is there. Tina finds other ways to insinuate herself into Andy’s new life. Renee ultimately decides a “less messy” relationship would be better for her and drops him.
The film reminds me of a serene lake under heavy clouds. There is no “All’s well that ends well” to this film. A Johnny line sums it up perfectly, “Rich people and their champagne problems.”
Burns, a producer, writer, director and actor, first achieved directorial success with “The Brothers McMullen” followed six years later by “Sidewalks of New York.” In a very different acting role for television Burns played Bugsy Siegel in “Mob City.” This year he also authored an autobiographical novel “A Kid From Marlborough Road.”
The Moviehouse is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that has been celebrating film and bringing the community together since 1978. Gretchen Mol, who plays Eve, in this film is on the theater’s board. For more information go to www.themoviehouse.net/about
