Mr. and Mrs. Smith
Written by Simon Kinberg
Directed by Doug Liman
20th Century Fox
2005
Rating:


The movies rarely care about a couple maintaining their relationship. Most films are about getting that couple together, as in romantic comedies like "It Happened One Night," or watching them fall apart, as in the romantic drama "Scenes From a Marriage." So it's actually refreshing when, of all things, a summer blockbuster decides to show the work that gets put into a relationship and what it takes to make it work. "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" is really about an average unhappy couple, John (Brad Pitt) and Jane Smith (Angelina Jolie). They take their marriage troubles to a counselor, but they can't find a way to, as Jane says, stop the space between them from filling up with all of the things they don't say. Reconciliation or all-out destruction of the marriage is only made possible when John and Jane are hired to kill the same mark (Adam Brody) and discover that they're competing assassins. Sparks and bullets fly between the Smiths, both of whom are hurt over the lies the other has told over the years, and they relish the opportunity to beat to a bloody pulp the lover he and she have fallen out of love with. Director Doug Liman ("The Bourne Identity") comes dangerously close to turning domestic violence into a cure-all for marriage problems. The fight sequences are given a screwball staging that makes the beatings delivered and received (John takes the brunt of the violence) seem like fun, although care is taken to keep Jane's thrashing from seeming erotic.

There are loud gun fights, daring jumps from skyscrapers and long car chases, but the romantic spirit of a modern day Ernst Lubitsch gives the film depth. John is often emasculated by Jane, which explains his hostility toward her, while John resents Jane's "manly" work ethic. "You guys are Macy's and Gimbel's," John's colleague (Vince Vaughn) says. John and Jane can only resolve their marriage problems once they're able to stop competing and see each other as equals. The film ends a little too tidily, but "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" may be the only Hollywood film all year that genuinely cares about the sanctity of marriage.

Posted Sunday, July 3, 2005

Link to this review:
http://filmzeus.pressbin.com/film/mr.mrs.smith