Hope Springs

 

Directed by David Frankel

Written by Vanessa Taylor

 

With Meryl Streep, Tommy Lee Jones and James Carell

 

Although it is called a romantic comedy, Hope Springs is a serious story about a baby boomer couple attempting to freshen up a marriage that has gone stale.

Kate (Meryl Streep) and Arnold (Tommy Lee Jones) Soames of Omaha have been married for 31 years.  Their two kids have grown up, and their marriage has fallen into a routine. They sleep in separate bedrooms. Kate cooks him the identical breakfast each day, which he eats wordlessly while reading a newspaper. She prepares dinner for the two of them, which he eats quickly then leaves the table to watch golf on television. They have not had sex for five years.

Arnold is a grumpy angry man who is okay with the way things are. Kate is very unhappy about the decades of neglect she has experienced. Although she is married, she is desperately lonely.

She decides to enroll them in a Couples Therapy week conducted by doctor Ben Feld (James Carell) in Hope Springs, Maine.  She pays the $4,000 fee herself. Begrudging and angry, Arnold comes with her.

Hope Springs details their week in Maine with Dr. Feld. That they sit on opposite sides of the couch says volumes about their relationship. Dr. Feld asks them questions, gently, probing about their fantasies, their hopes, when they were the happiest, when they fell in love.  

Arnold is a reluctant, complaining participant. Kay wants only to get closer to him and somehow recapture the affection they once had for each other. It seems hopeless. Will Arnold ever get in touch with his emotions?

“Hope Springs” is an ambitious attempt to reach mature audiences, unusual in mainstream American cinema. But there appears to be a market for that kind of film fare. Observe the success of “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.” The movie industry is now taking an interest in the aging population.

“Hope Springs” is about real people dealing with real problems. It is an intimate look at how a middle-age couple falls into a marriage of complacency. There are laughs, but there here are no stupid punch lines. This is serious business.

Meryl Streep gives a simple and touching performance of a woman who is rejected by her husband and does not know how to get him to notice her. Tommy Lee Jones is excellent as the uptight curmudgeon who ultimately can show tenderness. James Carell is terrific as the gently probing and patient therapist.

Younger audiences may be grossed out seeing a sixtyish couple making out and will have trouble relating to Kay and Arnold’s relationship issues. But mature audiences are sure to find “Hope Springs” an emotionally rewarding look into the issues between older couples. It is a beautiful and poignant story and has three fine performances. And it all happens in a picture perfect little town in Maine.