We Don't Live Here Anymore

Starring:Mark Ruffalo, Laura Dern, Peter Krause, Naomi Watts, Sam Charles, Haili Page, Jennifer Bishop (II), Jennifer Mawhinney, Amber Rothwell, Meg Roe, Jim Francis (II), Marc Baur, Patrick Earley, Melodee Spevack
Director: John Curran (II)
Studio: Warner Home Video
Product Type: DVD

Editorial Review:
Amazon.com
Few movies offer as intimate a portrait of a fragmenting marriage as We Don't Live Here Anymore. Jack (Mark Ruffalo, You Can Count on Me) and Terry (Laura Dern, Citizen Ruth) are best friends with Edith (Naomi Watts, Mulholland Drive) and Hank (Peter Krause, HBO's Six Feet Under)--but Edith and Jack, frustrated with their own marriages, have fallen into an affair that gradually erodes all of their lives. Most movies pretend their sex scenes are really about the characters' emotions; in this case, it's true. The movie's greatest strength, however, is that it's as much about parents and children as husbands and wives; the children of both marriage are as caught up in the events as the adults, and are often more clear-eyed about it all. The whole cast turns in strong performances, but Ruffalo and Dern are particularly vivid. A sad, hopeful, beautiful movie. --Bret Fetzer
Description
Jack and Terry. Hank and Edith. They're married couples and best friends with much in common. Jack and Hank are professors at Cedar County College. Terry and Edith are stay-at-home moms. And Jack and Edith are secret lovers. Mark Ruffalo, Laura Dern, Peter Krause and Naomi Watts play the interlocked foursome, pushing their characters into uncharted realms of anger, confrontation and lust - and making decisions that might or might not let love slip away.

DVD Features:
Scene Access
Theatrical Trailer

Average customer rating:

Over Acting for Beginners
and the winner for best casting is . . . ?
[3.5]--Adultery is not what it used to be.
Love and Marriage
An eye opener

We Don't Live Here Anymore
Starring: Mark Ruffalo , Laura Dern , Peter Krause , Naomi Watts , and Sam Charles
Director: John Curran (II)
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00065HKMA
Release Date: 2004-12-14

Amazon.com

Few movies offer as intimate a portrait of a fragmenting marriage as We Don't Live Here Anymore. Jack (Mark Ruffalo, You Can Count on Me) and Terry (Laura Dern, Citizen Ruth) are best friends with Edith (Naomi Watts, Mulholland Drive) and Hank (Peter Krause, HBO's Six Feet Under)--but Edith and Jack, frustrated with their own marriages, have fallen into an affair that gradually erodes all of their lives. Most movies pretend their sex scenes are really about the characters' emotions; in this case, it's true. The movie's greatest strength, however, is that it's as much about parents and children as husbands and wives; the children of both marriage are as caught up in the events as the adults, and are often more clear-eyed about it all. The whole cast turns in strong performances, but Ruffalo and Dern are particularly vivid. A sad, hopeful, beautiful movie. --Bret Fetzer

Description

Jack and Terry. Hank and Edith. They're married couples and best friends with much in common. Jack and Hank are professors at Cedar County College. Terry and Edith are stay-at-home moms. And Jack and Edith are secret lovers. Mark Ruffalo, Laura Dern, Peter Krause and Naomi Watts play the interlocked foursome, pushing their characters into uncharted realms of anger, confrontation and lust - and making decisions that might or might not let love slip away.

DVD Features:
Scene Access
Theatrical Trailer

Customer Reviews:

Over Acting for Beginners.......2007-01-23

More bad acting and false passion than any human can stand. If you can empathise with any of these characters see a doctor.

and the winner for best casting is . . . ?.......2006-11-24

I don't wish to be irreverent, but my main response to this story was that Jack and Edith and Hank and Terry seemed much more physically and emotionally suited to each other than their mates. For one thing, Terry (Dern) was taller than Jack (Ruffalo), and sort of stooped over him in certain scenes (menacingly, not unlike her father, in movies of yore). I suppose the idea was that the domain of marriage is really the realm of interiority. But, frankly, I feel the physical has a lot to do with it. Whether this phenomenon was intended by the filmakers or not, I could not quite fathom. I guess by beginning mise en scene, the original relationships between the mates never get established as much as their new loves, especially the heated affair between Jack and Edith.
But, if it were the case that they had found more suitable partners in their friends' spouses, why did the couples not simply accept the way of nature and hang out as a merry foursome? I believe the what was implied was that the physical attraction was fueled, in part at least, by the covert nature of the relationships and their proximity, rather than the possibility that marital exclusivity is a social form whose basic functions and values are increasingly perceived as relative to the primary importance child rearing.
And it must be noted that the child acting in the sophisticated contexts of the film is uniformally superb. As far as the adult acting: Naomi Watts is a superstar in her generation - an actress of insight and power reminiscent in a certain way of the young Tuesday Weld - but generations beyond in subtlety and depth. I cannot express my gratitude enough for her openess, generosity, and courage in her examination of female sensuality in all her films. Her undeniable beauty, which seems to grow more profound as her characters sink into the depths of tragedy, is framed very well in this one. The other three all have their moments (and bless Ruffalo for openly opposing the war) - as does the script - although, I will say that as a teacher at a small college, if I ever spoke to a young student as Hank does in a number of scenes, I would be in serious violation of my obligation to the community. I do not know if this lack of realism was unconscious on the part of the film-makers, or simply irresponsible in the attempt characterize the dark, reckless side of Hank - but the public ought to know that that type of talk is monitored in most schools.
In the final analysis, almost in spite of its intentions, but most sadly, not quite, the whole comes off as a rather soporific soap, rather than the serious pyschodramatic investigation it wants to be.

[3.5]--Adultery is not what it used to be........2006-10-06

This unoriginal film held my interest from beginning to end. Jake is something of a sad sack. He describes himself as a reader, not a writer, in contrast to Hank, who gets the occasional story accepted by the New Yorker, and he seems trapped by his marriage and unrewarding job. Played by Mark Ruffalo, always good at cuddly muddled characters, he is surprisingly sympathetic; despite the emotional damage he does to the highly strung Terry. Hank on the other hand is cast as the villain. He doesn't actually mind Jake having it off with Edith as he thinks this might make her easier to live with, and anyway he himself chases anything in skirts. Peter Krause does a fine job, but you are left wondering is Mark not equally at fault? As the two wives, Laura Dern as Terry and Naomi Watts as Edith also put in strong performances.

While there is plenty of emotion below the surface the story stays low-key, despite a couple of suggestions that one or other of the characters is about to do something awful. Andre Dubus (who had a Louisiana Cajun background) was credited with having a Catholic sensibility, whatever that means, and I suppose he was saying that adultery has a price. However he also seemed to be saying that for this bunch it was practically to be expected. That being the case, it's hard to be harsh on them, except perhaps the priapic Hank who in the end suffers the most.

The setting is almost idyllic (suburban Vancouver standing in for New England) and the cinematography is great. Although this film is rather dull there is interest in the characters but the story is so trite it is hard to sustain one's interest. The dialogue is peppered with the odd literary quote but is generally pretty banal. Here there is no mystery, just a group of people I will make sure not to invite for dinner.

Love and Marriage.......2006-08-25

I composed a review for this film several days ago. Why it hasn't been posted remains a mystery.

Oh yes, WE DON'T LIVE HERE ANYMORE. Based on several stories by deceased writer Andre Dubus, the film follows the lives of two married couples: Hank and Edith (Peter Krause and Naomi Watts), and Jack and Terry (Mark Ruffalo and Laura Dern). His marriage growing increasingly miserable by the day, Jack starts sleeping with Edith (in the woods, no less). Terry and Hank are hardly people to feel sorry for; Jack catches the two going at it in a car. Between the woods and cars parked outside, I wonder what's wrong with using a hotel room...?

One would assume a cast that includes Emmy-nominated Krause and Golden-Globe winning Dern, the acting would be flawless. Not the case. While the amazon.com reviewer singled out the performances from Dern and Ruffalo, the only one really making an effort was Naomi Watts. Her performance wasn't anything special, but I'll take that over Dern's stagy, stilted delivery or Ruffalo's laconic and dull attempt at acting. As for Krause... eh. He didn't embarass himself but he's accomplished so much more on TV's "Six Feet Under". Why the poor acting? I don't know, but it's not the screenwriter's fault. Full of intelligent dialogue, dry humor, and literary references, it comes as no surprise that the script ended up winning an award at Sundance. My only quibble is the random voiceovers from Hank. Either most of the film should have narration, or none at all. Three sections of narration just feels awkward and half-hearted.

The direction, courtesy of Australian auteur John Curran, is adequate. The only memorable moment is when Hank saves his kids (or almost kills them, depending on whom you ask) from falling into a river. Nicely shot, Curran. The score, courtesy of composer Michael Convertino, is also of note. Its solemn, almost melancholy nature makes it a perfect choice for the film. I'd go so far as to say it's the movie's high point.

If you're wondering whether to rent this movie or not, go for it. Just don't let your expectations get too high. I can't recommend the stories WE DON'T LIVE HERE ANYMORE and ADULTERY. I found them to be tedious and irritating (then again, it's not like this movie was a prize).

An eye opener.......2006-08-23

I don't think I've ever just sat and watched a movie and `got' it quite like this. Maybe it's because every married couple goes through the feelings expressed in this film. Laura Dern, Mark Ruffalo, Naomi Watts & Peter Krause star as two couples whose relationships are rattled by adultery. These two couples have very different relationships yet are looking for exactly the same thing.

Jack (Ruffalo) is a college professor married to Terry (Dern). Terry loves Jack but Jack is falling in love with Edith (Watts) who is married to Hank (Krause) who doesn't love her but is attracted to Terry. Jack and Edith fall into an affair that causes more pain to each of them then to their respective partners. Watching Jack and Edith react to their mates after they've just been with each other, the tears, the looks, the concern in their eyes. Hank in the meantime is looking for someone to cure his boredom with his wife, and Terry may be that woman, and since Jack's guilt is tearing him apart he encourages Terry and Hank's relationship in order to justify is infidelity.

What Jack never banked on was realizing the love he had for his wife and his children. After his wife sleeps with Hank, Jack is panged with regret and heartache as he watches his marriage fall apart, the marriage he felt he was tired of but in actuality it's the only thing he wants and needs.

This movie is a wake up call for all of us who are falling out of love with our relationships, our lives in general and the ones we share it with. It's brilliantly scripted and acted and flows wonderfully, delivering its point beautifully. Watts and Dern are brilliant here and show so much feeling in all their words, in all their actions. Honestly one of the best movie's I've ever seen and one that will stay with me for all time.

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