Not anywhere near the film I expected to see Hope Springs is a kind of weird movie. Now I know I may not be the films target audience a 33 y/o gay male but I do appreciate good movies with good performances which I've come to expect of Meryl Streep. Her last pairing with this director was the the surprisingly wonderful Devil wears Prada that garnered Streep an Oscar. The combination is less effective here but this is an entirely different experiment. The film centers on a woman named Kay played with a accomplished versatility by Streep who tries to engage her grumpy husband played by Tommy Lee Jones in one of his best performances in years to participate in intensive couples therapy. I'm not sure what I expected but the film isn't nearly as funny as I wanted it to be however it does manage to develop these characters realistically although the end up feels like a quick tie up of the material. Streep's character is someone she hasn't played before her interpretation although inspired feels a little too desperate, pathetic and even a slight bit annoying at times but real nonetheless. Jones stakes his ground admirably and doesn't budge up as you would expect his character to be in real life. Sure there are some uncomfortable, awkward sequences in the film that could have turned out to be intended laugh riots but instead they opt for a somewhat brooding sense of realism that undermines the humor. that being said there is a lot of good here although an uneven film with slight pacing issues its a solid effort with solid performances. That much you should expect. 3.5/5
Review of Hope Springs
