'Hope springs' - Naughty but not ...
The story of how I got to see ‘Hope Springs’ is an interesting one. I had been having lunch with a couple of close girlfriends and one of them mentioned that she and another friend had seen ‘Hope Springs’ but that her other friend was quite shocked by it – to the degree that the friend actually said that in her eyes it was ‘pornography’ – which I thought was quite strong. But looking at the various reviews for the picture there were several comments from people who had seen it that for something rated as ‘12A’ it was very strong and in one case someone walked out with their 12 year old because of its reference to talk of oral sex, sexual fantasies and ‘graphic re-enactment involving bananas” and got a refund too boot.
So, I thought I would see it to see whether it was as strong as some have made out. ‘Hope Springs’ has a fairly checked history as it was originally to be made with Meryl Streep and Jeff Bridges playing opposite each other and it was to be directed by Mike Nichols. But then Bridges dropped out with other names such as James Gandolfini and Phillip Seymour Hoffman mentioned but then they and Nichols left. In the end while Meryl Streep remained in the lead female role, in came in Tommy Lee Jones and the project itself was directed by David Frankel who helmed Streep’s ‘The Devil Wears Prada’.
As written by Vanessa Taylor, it is on the face of it a simple tale of Kay (Streep) and Arnold Soames (Tommy Lee Jones) as a middle America couple who have been married to each other for 31 years, whose children have grown up and moved out and who have grown apart. Physically, their relationship has dissipated. He doesn’t touch her, it’s been 4 years since they actually had sex with each other and whilst he has his head in the sand (or falling asleep whilst watching Golf on ESPN), Kay wants to save her marriage and be loved and touched again and books the two of them in with an intensive marriage counselling course with Dr Bernie Feld (a very dry and droll Steve Carell) in a out of the way costal town in Maine.
Now whilst Kay wants to be there, Arnold does not in a really, really big way. His reasons range from the cost involved, to the kind of ‘quack’ that he thinks Feld is, to the kind of place they have to travel to. Underneath it all, he just doesn’t see that there is a problem in his marriage and just wants to carry on and deny that their lack of a sex life is a problem. Through various stages of the counselling, Feld gets Kay and Arnold to open and discuss what their sex life has consisted of, what they want from being physical with each other, what their fantasies are, and without giving anything away, these creates all kind of challenges especially to the oppressed Arnold.
To begin with, it is not to my eyes or ears ‘Pornography. It is very Adult though and for a ‘12A’ it is definitely pushing the boundaries as to what is acceptable for someone under 12 with a parent or over 12 on their own to view in a cinema. There are frequent sexual references and it is certainly not for those with prudish views as the language is quite explicit but very funny. The movie works on two levels for me- it is funny to see how the oppressed Arnold Soames (a brilliantly squirmy turn by Tommy Lee Jones) explains what he misses with sex whilst Meryl Streep is the heart of the picture whether it is as the wife who has been forgotten about by her dry husband or the woman who realises that she cannot turn on her husband. Streep is a remarkably attractive actress but here she is as dowdy and down beat as you could expect.
Steve Carell puts in a hugely restrained and controlled performance as the therapist who guides the married couple through their frustrations and resists the temptation to jazz it up too comically. The other angle to the picture is what it says about some marriages where after a while someone loses interest in sex, the other person gets used to that and that physicality does not return. It is at its best when looking at how reluctant men can be in discussing their needs and why so many find it easier not to address the problem and deal with it another way- Golf or other activities…
You also feel as good as the picture is that there is another movie trying to get out. There are shockingly short scenes involving two major Hollywood players in Mimi Rogers and Elisabeth Shue (go the toilet during the picture and you will probably miss them) but what there is is still hugely entertaining but don’t take that maiden aunt of yours…….