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Rare is the movie that addresses any issue as confidently as ?Hope Springs? does its core concern: The lack of sexual spark among married couples over 60.
But if you?re not in that demographic, don?t dismiss it. You?ll miss out on a genuinely sweet, perfectly acted, remarkably brave little movie that should make audiences swoon for something they thought was gone ? a smart dramedy for grown-ups.
There are no soul-sturdying shopping sprees for Kay (Meryl Streep), and no finding-himself road trips for Arnold (Tommy Lee Jones). Director David Frankel?s film respects its audience more than that, earning respect in turn.
That give-and-take turns out to be crucial to screenwriter Vanessa Taylor?s pared-down story. And it suits the lovely acting duet performed by Streep and Jones, who never allow smirkiness to sneak into their performances.
Kay and Arnold are Omaha empty-nesters who?ve been living side by side, but not intimately, for years, at least since their oldest son went to college. One day a fed-up Kay gently but definitively suggests a reimagining of who and what they are. The first step is a weeklong session in a cozy town in Maine with low-key couples therapist Dr. Feld (Steve Carell).
Arnold, of course, balks; he?s just fine in his recliner ? why pay money to ?listen to a charlatan?? But he appeases Kay, and as the two sit, uncomfortably at first, on Feld?s couch, the therapist teases out truths about their expectations, fantasies and reality. Feld?s manner is mild, but what he suggests is revolutionary for them. It involves breaking down 40 years of taking each other for granted.
It?s no surprise that the cranky Arnold has the most to learn, but what?s revelatory is the decency that fills up ?Hope Springs? and keeps all its characters from becoming caricatures. Carell?s not Judd Hirsch in ?Ordinary People? or Robin Williams in ?Good Will Hunting? ? he?s as dry as the self-help book that first leads Kay to him, but turns out that?s what the doctor ordered.
Frankel happily avoids any of the snarkiness of ?The Devil Wears Prada,? his previous collaboration with Streep, and allows his two leads to guide us on a very humane journey. Jones, whose taciturn snarls have been used more for jokiness lately, matches every sigh from Streep with a wince or a shrug that can hold multitudes of meaning.
And perhaps only Streep, with her supreme inner B.S. detector, could do a character like Kay justice without becoming earnest or winkingly sly. In the wrong hands, this could have been ?Old American Pie.? Instead, ?Hope Springs? is one of the great surprises of late summer.
Source : NY Daily
