HOPE SPRINGS

I approached this film warily as the situation was so close to me.  I've been married 30 years and I was a social worker for 36 years so seeing a movie about a couple married 31 years who involve themselves in intensive therapy had me cautious.  I loathe seeing bad therapists on film with screenwriters' misconstrued notions about what constitutes good therapy.  And I'm cautious about making middle aged couples look silly when discussing their intimacy.  Happy to say I was delightfully surprised.  Meryl and Tommy Lee Jones are so real and authentic as a couple who have lost any intimacy in their relationship (they sleep in different rooms!!) but clearly have had a foundation together.  Tommy Lee takes a journey on screen that is not an easy or comfortable one and I could have cheered audibly for every one of Steve Carell's interventions with this couple.  Meryl as always is brilliant and sensitive in her portrayal of a middle aged wife yearning for more.  At the end of the film when I called Abe for a lift home he realized he forgot to leave work so I had a glass of wine at Hyde Park Grill and waited for him.  When he walked in to get me I realized how in love I am with this guy after 30 years of marriage and how fortunate we are to be growing old together and forgetting to pick each other up after a film.  It's all worth it.