I had to work most of New Year’s Eve, so I wasn’t in the mood to go out only a couple hours before the ball dropped in NYC. Instead, I decided I’d rather spend the night watching scary movies. I’d never heard of this one before and with Stephen King attached – my mind was made up! Here’s my thoughts on this title, A Good Marriage.
A Good Marriage is directed by Peter Askin and written by Stephen King. A Good Marriage was originally a short story in King’s 2010 Full Dark, No Stars collection before he adapted it to a screenplay in 2014. Cast members appearing within include 3x Oscar Nominee Joan Allen (The Crucible, The Contender, “The Killing”), Golden Globe Winner Anthony LaPaglia (“Murder One,” “Fraiser,” “Without A Trace”), Stephen Lang (Avatar, “Salem”), Cara Buono (“Stephen King’s The Dead Zone,” “Person of Interest”), Kristen Connolly (“Guiding Light,” The Bay), Mike O’Malley (“Glee,” R.I.P.D.), Theo Stockman, and Will Rogers.
“After 25 years of a good marriage, what will Darcy do once she discovers her husband’s sinister secret?”
A Good Marriage poses a good question. Just think about it. Imagine you’re married to your husband or wife for twenty-five years. They are the best person you’ve ever known, the most compassionate and loving. They gave you your two beautiful children – helped raise them, too – and worked their ass off two put a lavish house over your head. Then imagine that you accidently discover that your husband or wife is a mass murder who is responsible for the murder of twelve women. Could you turn your back on the one person who has always stuck by you and provided you with everything? Could you sleep next to them every night knowing you could be their next victim? All of this is discussed through Darcy’s (played by Joan Allen) story in A Good Marriage.
Joan Allen is fantastic in this role, too. I’ve seen a lot of her work in the past, but – especially since this is a horror film – this is going to be the way I always remember her. She shows off what a talented and superb actress she is here and constantly jumps between extreme emotions all in the same scene. It must have been a challenge, but she really rose to the occasion. She goes through a whole personal and emotional transformation by the end of the movie and it was so powerful to see. She’s not your typical horror star, either, mostly – with respect – because she’s in her 50s. You’re not going to see her doing gratuitous sex scenes or other wild behavior, so you really have to care about her on a deeper level to route for Darcy. She was just amazing. I can’t give a negative critique to any of the lead and supporting cast, though, they are all amazing.
Everyone knows who Stephen King is. He is by far one of the greatest horror-suspense writers to ever grace the planet and he gave us some of the best horror films of the 70s, 80s, and 90s: Carrie, Salem’s Lot, The Shining, Creepshow, Cujo, Christine, Children of the Corn, Firestarter, Silver Bullet, Pet Cemetery, It, and The Stand. He continues to write, obviously, but my most favorite recent work of his is The Mist in 2007. He’s a two time Emmy Nominee and a 15x Bram Stoker Award Winner whose sold over 350,000,000 books. With so many hits under his sleeve, he’s bound to have a miss at some point. I wouldn’t say that A Good Marriage is a miss, but it’s certainly slower than his other works. That seems to be the complaint from most people who watched it, although I enjoyed the ever building tension between Darcy and her husband, wondering if he was going to finally turn on her or kill their daughter. I would say A Good Marriage isn’t for everyone, definitely more for the people who enjoy a good story over blood and violence.
A Good Marriage wasn’t quite what I expected, but it was still a fun and interesting viewing. It’s currently in select theaters and available on all VOD outlets. I’m going to rate it… hm… an 7.5 out of 10. Happy New Year!
