In all his films or television shows he has created as a writer director, Edward Burns has always made it personal but achieving the same degree of independence as an artist as in his breakout debut the brothers McMullen has at times called for working on a lower budget and with younger cast sets naturally causing the work itself to go further away from who he is today. In an industry devoid of intelligent adult drama, it is gratifying to see him take the center stage again in Millers in Marriage with the backdrop that he knows best no thanks to the fact that he’s over 50.
“I’m rather attempting to build a long-term connection with a woman around my age,” can be heard Andy (the character played by Burns) speaking to his new girlfriend Renee (Minnie Driver) making her relax when the pregnant girlfriend few people in her society rather expect children to have at least some children. They are in one of the summer houses that Renee acquired following a divorce and as far as Millers in marriage is concerned, there was nothing romantic for him to say to her when all people wish for is security.
It was not Andy who recently brought a close to his marriage of 15 years, yet it is easy to appreciate that such an event occurred when leaving the fiery temper of Tina (Morena Baccarin) was not a lot of trouble. And if he wishes to be reminded, he just has to pick up the telephone and talk to his younger sister Eve (Gretchen Mol) whose husband Scott (Patrick Wilson) manages to stay busy for weeks on end and does not seem to bother with calling his wife from the road as a music manager.
His other sister, Maggie (Julianna Margulies) isn’t content with her marriage as well, her husband, Nick (Campbell Scott) has been sulking ever since the kids went off for school, but she does not feel strongly about it unless it can be woven into her own stories as an author. It appears that all of Millers have an art form–or at least they used to. Eve was the front woman for a band until she and Scott got pregnant, and while it’s not essential to the plot, Burns can offer wry observations about the twists and turns of a career in as an area he knows well. Some degree of self awareness is also exercised when Nick goes through the best seller of his wife’s fictional writing and observes, “It’s rich people with champagne problems,” with clear references to no one being penniless in ‘Millers In Marriage’.”
In his attempt to discover such a balance, however, Burns does not shy away from indulging in the emotional aspects of what people are willing to sacrifice for the combination of their personal life and career or for that of an enduring relationship. Another character who the film potentially seems to use as a cipher for the filmmaker is Johnny (Benjamin Bratt), a rock journalist, who asks Eve about a book he is writing and expresses a desire to leave New York because he feels like a stranger in a young person’s city. As Eve is ready to tell, perhaps he is looking for recognition from people who do not appreciate him.
Despite the uncomfortable interactions among the characters, “Millers in Marriage” is quite entertaining and relaxed. A number of actors are donned in a way such that they perfectly play people who have put up a life they would never take the risk to change, and in this sense, Burns with the editor Janet Gaynor manages to construct the film gracefully as well as slowly, having non-linear flashbacks woven within conversations which explain the difference between what happened and what the said person wishes to tell or recall from their life. The dramatic element comes into play when the central three couples have their first confrontation and the secrets are what build the drama, however, when the bare truth is the most sought after in the relationship, the romance is built out of any possible interaction between the characters which also tells even more fascinating stories considering Burns still has his keen sense of realistic dialogues.
The film does expand its reach to melodrama as it gets to its final stages with the tough calls, however if some of its actors are seen acting in the film, then they also emerge as film actors as though their more or less banal sufferings are in the interest of the audience. How to solve the problems is classic, but it is pleasing to realize that some matters really do get mature with time.
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