Edward Burns made quite the impression after winning the Best Picture prize at the Sundance Film Festival with his 1995 masterpiece THE BROTHERS MCMULLEN, signifying the emergence of a new and singular voice. The plot synopsis for the film was "Three Irish Catholic brothers from Long Island struggle to deal with love, marriage, and infidelity." Now, thirty years later, Burns has returned with a new vision, MILLERS IN MARRIAGE, with the plot synopsis sounding vaguely familiar - "Three Irish Catholic siblings from New York struggle to deal with love, marriage, and infidelity." What can I say? Dude's got range.
However, I'm not here to say that Edward Burns is a one-trick pony or that MILLERS IN MARRIAGE is recycled and tired. Truth is, I really liked this movie. The cast is impeccable and the narrative kept me interested, even when I thought some plot points were a bit contrived or predictable. Burns crafts characters that we want to care about, even if they're narcissistic, self-destructive, manipulative, or just plain wrong. Burns' gift of character and dialogue is that we are drawn into the maw of the devouring devils of his narratives.
This film is no different. Following the Miller siblings, Andy (Burns), Maggie (Julianna Margulies), and Eve (Gretchen Mol), and their orbiting cadre of lovers. Andy is a painter, fresh off a separation from his wife Tina (Morena Baccarin) and now dating one of her former colleagues Renee (Minnie Driver). Maggie is an active novelist married to inert novelist Nick (Campbell Scott), and Eve is a former rocker who gave it all up to raise a family with active rocker Scott (Patrick Wilson). Benjamin Bratt plays a journalist writing about the 90s rock scene vying to talk with either Scott or Eve about their experiences, and Brian D'arcy James rounds out the cast as a groundskeeper in the New York state hamlet where they all escape the bustle of The City. Each of these characters has their charms and their demons, with the exception of Scott, who is given one screeching note of distaste that he blows every moment he is onscreen.
MILLERS IN MARRIAGE is intelligent, yet still approachable, as even the novelists throw around profanities when their ire is rankled, giving an authenticity to the struggles onscreen. While their lifestyle may appear beyond the average viewer, the emotional highs and lows they must traverse ring as universal.
I was able to speak with Juliana Margulies ("The Good Wife," "ER") and Gretchen Mol ("Boardwalk Empire," THE LAST TIME I COMMITTED SUICIDE) about joining the cast and making a story about artistic elites accessible to the average viewer.
MILLERS IN MARRIAGE is available to stream now on all major platforms and in select theaters.
Until next time, take care of those who take care of you.
-McEric, aka Eric McClanahan-
