Kay (Meryl Streep) and Arnold (Tommy Lee Jones) are a devoted couple, but decades of marriage have left Kay wanting to spice things up and reconnect with her husband. When she hears of a renowned couple’s specialist (Steve Carell) in the small town of Great Hope Springs, she attempts to persuade her skeptical husband, a steadfast man of routine, to get on a plane for a week of marriage therapy. Just convincing the stubborn Arnold to go on the retreat is hard enough – the real challenge for both of them comes as they shed their bedroom hang-ups and try to re-ignite the spark that caused them to fall for each other in the first place. — (C) Sony
Walking into Hope Springs, I was expecting to be watching more of a comedy. I was wrong. It has some funny moments but overall, this is a very serious movie. Although it was not what I was expecting, it is a very well made film.
A huge factor in why this film is so well done is the acting in this movie is superb. Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones have fantastic chemistry together. I did not expect any less of these two amazing actors. One surprise here is how great Steve Carell is. I am so used to seeing him in comedic roles but he is wonderful as the marriage therapist in this film. If this film is remembered around award season time, I would expect to see some acting nominations for this film.
This film also does well with covering very sensitive material. In this movie, you are watching a couple literally going through marriage counseling and many mature marriage subjects are discussed (this is a major reason why this film is PG-13, even pushing the PG-13 rating in my opinion). These subjects are handled in a sensitive and non-vulgar fashion. With divorce rates rising around the world, I believe that this film may cause people in troubled marriages to maybe re-evaluate their own lives.
I think that married couples will really appreciate this film. This is an adult film, not meant for teenagers, or especially kids. This is a mom and dad movie.
Once again, based on it’s superb acting, I think that Hope Springs is a film worth seeing!
Hope Springs is now playing in theaters. It is rated PG-13. For more information about the movie, you can visit Sony’s official website for the film.
