I agree with the other reviewers that the summary of this movie is wrong. He doesn't fall in love with his wife, he's always loved her, kept her separate from himself, and apart from the way he measured himself as a man, but there is never any doubt for me that he loved her.
She's his touchstone, but their relationship is not enough to define his own definition of what it is to be a man. He keeps that score based on how many women he sleeps with. All meaningless encounters that amount to notches in his belt, and reassure him that his man card has the right amount of stamps on it it.
It's a situation he finds perfect until his wife, who knows about his countless infidelities, finally reaches her limit on and says, no more. Her abrupt departure from his life makes him reevaluate what matters most to him and how he has been measuring his existence and he realizes that he has been wrong about pretty much everything.
For her, she wants to understand what she did or didn't do that led them here, and comes to realize that it was never about the changes she made in herself, or the compromises she accepted to maintain her marriage, because the problem was in his view of how men are "supposed" to behave, and in hers about what women are "supposed" to tolerate.
This is story about stereotypes and the havoc they can cause in a relationship. To be a man he has to behave this way, and to be a woman is to tolerate it, because that is what they do. Neither of those is true, but many relationships have ended because of people's belief that this is what they are "supposed to do."
I loved this movie. I loved the games they played together. I loved the way the leads interacted, and reacted to each other together and apart. I loved that even though their relationship was ending (or seemed to be) they were both still very certain of how they felt for each other.
I could have done without the scene where he helped her pack and destroyed her clothes because he was petulant and angry, but I suppose that level of emotional immaturity needed to be visually displayed. I probably could have also done without the incredible number or women that came onto him time and time again. It made it almost seem like he was a prisoner of others actions and not responsible for his own choices.
I liked that they acknowledged that so much history between two people is hard to walk away from, even if the history is painful.
I also liked the way it ends. Full of hope and possibility even after everything that has happened. Both leads were amazing, and more people should give this film a chance.
She's his touchstone, but their relationship is not enough to define his own definition of what it is to be a man. He keeps that score based on how many women he sleeps with. All meaningless encounters that amount to notches in his belt, and reassure him that his man card has the right amount of stamps on it it.
It's a situation he finds perfect until his wife, who knows about his countless infidelities, finally reaches her limit on and says, no more. Her abrupt departure from his life makes him reevaluate what matters most to him and how he has been measuring his existence and he realizes that he has been wrong about pretty much everything.
For her, she wants to understand what she did or didn't do that led them here, and comes to realize that it was never about the changes she made in herself, or the compromises she accepted to maintain her marriage, because the problem was in his view of how men are "supposed" to behave, and in hers about what women are "supposed" to tolerate.
This is story about stereotypes and the havoc they can cause in a relationship. To be a man he has to behave this way, and to be a woman is to tolerate it, because that is what they do. Neither of those is true, but many relationships have ended because of people's belief that this is what they are "supposed to do."
I loved this movie. I loved the games they played together. I loved the way the leads interacted, and reacted to each other together and apart. I loved that even though their relationship was ending (or seemed to be) they were both still very certain of how they felt for each other.
I could have done without the scene where he helped her pack and destroyed her clothes because he was petulant and angry, but I suppose that level of emotional immaturity needed to be visually displayed. I probably could have also done without the incredible number or women that came onto him time and time again. It made it almost seem like he was a prisoner of others actions and not responsible for his own choices.
I liked that they acknowledged that so much history between two people is hard to walk away from, even if the history is painful.
I also liked the way it ends. Full of hope and possibility even after everything that has happened. Both leads were amazing, and more people should give this film a chance.