A Good Marriage (film)

Last updated
A Good Marriage
A Good Marriage.jpg
Promotional poster
Directed by Peter Askin
Screenplay by Stephen King
Based on A Good Marriage
by Stephen King
Produced by
  • Peter Askin
  • Will Battersby
  • Per Melita
Starring
CinematographyFrank G. DeMarco
Edited byColleen Sharp
Music by
Production
company
Reno Productions [1]
Distributed by Screen Media Films
Release date
  • October 3, 2014 (2014-10-03)
Running time
102 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

A Good Marriage is a 2014 American psychological thriller film directed by Peter Askin and written by Stephen King, based on King's novella of the same name, from the 2010 collection Full Dark, No Stars . It stars Joan Allen, Anthony LaPaglia, Kristen Connolly and Stephen Lang.

Contents

A Good Marriage was released in the United States on October 3, 2014 on video on demand, receiving a limited theatrical release by Screen Media Films. [2]

Plot

Bob and Darcy Anderson have been happily married for 27 years with two adult children. One evening while Bob is away on a business trip, Darcy goes into the garage to search for batteries. When rummaging through Bob's things, she comes across pornographic magazines containing sadomasochistic images. Upon looking further, she finds a secret compartment behind the garage's baseboard and inside is a small box containing ID cards of Marjorie Duvall, a victim of a serial killer known as "Beadie".

Horrified, Darcy looks up Beadie online and cross-checks Bob's business records with the locations of the murders, finding that he was close to most of the crimes. She also sees a photograph of Duvall wearing earrings identical to the ones Bob recently gave her as an anniversary gift. Meanwhile, after spotting a young woman leaving a diner, Bob follows her in his car. He then returns home to confront Darcy; he has deduced her discovery. He calmly explains his insanity to Darcy, recounting how he and a sadistic friend named Brian Delahanty, or "BD" (from which "Beadie" was derived), planned a school shooting as teenagers. However, Delahanty was hit by a car before they could carry it out, but Bob claims BD had "infected" him with "certain ideas", resulting in his homicidal urges.

Bob claims that, after he started a family with Darcy, his murderous alter ego receded and he was not driven to kill again for several years. He asks Darcy to put the matter behind them for the sake of their children, and then falls asleep. The following morning, Darcy feigns an agreement to forget what she has discovered, on the condition that he does not kill again, and that he bury Duvall's ID cards in the woods. Bob agrees.

A few months later, Bob, who is an avid coin collector, finds a rare 1955 doubled die cent, and he and Darcy go out to celebrate. Upon arriving home, Darcy has Bob fetch some Perrier while she waits for him upstairs, ostensibly for sex. However, when Bob goes up, Darcy pushes him back down the stairs, breaking his back and arm. She then manages to shove a plastic bag and a dish cloth down his throat, killing him. After removing all evidence of murder, Darcy manages to convince the police and the children that Bob died in a drunken accident. Darcy assumes the ordeal is over.

Not long after Bob is buried, a retired ailing detective named Holt Ramsey visits the house. Ramsey has spent years investigating the Beadie murders and had questioned Bob previously. Ramsey tells Darcy that he suspected Bob was the killer, since his Chevrolet Blazer was seen in the vicinity of each victim. Darcy realizes that Ramsey has figured out her role in Bob's death, but she rejects any accusations and Ramsey leaves. Later that night when Ramsey is admitted to the hospital, Darcy visits him and threatens to smother him with a pillow, claiming "two can keep a secret if one of them is dead". Once she admits the truth, Ramsey assures her that she did the right thing.

Darcy returns home and enjoys life on her own, after realizing that Bob was close to being caught and therefore wasn't as smart as he thought he was. She finds that she can now be at peace with herself.

Cast

Development

On May 19, 2012, ScreenDaily reported that Will Battersby and Peter Askin were producing an adaptation of A Good Marriage; Askin was announced as directing Stephen King's screenplay of his own novella. [3] On September 11, 2012, Joan Allen was announced as the lead in the film. [4]

Release

The film was released in the United States on October 3, 2014.

The film, when announced, caused controversy when King said that he took influence from serial killer Dennis Rader. Kerri Rawson, Rader's daughter, said that King was exploiting her father's victims by taking inspiration from his life. [5]

Reception

Rotten Tomatoes, a review aggregator, reports that 35% of 20 surveyed critics gave the film a positive review; the average rating was 4.8/10. [6] Metacritic rated it 43/100 based on eight reviews. [7] Frank Scheck of The Hollywood Reporter called it "a decidedly minor" adaptation that "fails to fulfill the potential of its provocative premise". [8] Andy Webster of The New York Times called it a "low-key, assured thriller" with a strong performance from Allen. [9] Gary Goldstein of the Los Angeles Times called it "a wry, old-fashioned game of cat and mouse" with good acting. [10] Pete Vonder Haar of The Village Voice wrote that it is a serviceable, nondescript thriller that was a surprising choice to adapt to film. [11] Rod Pocowatchit of The Wichita Eagle rejected concerns of exploitation, but said that the film comes across as a low-budget made-for-TV film. [12] Kiva Reardon of The A.V. Club rated it D+ and wrote, "By its conclusion, A Good Marriage doesn't give a definitive answer to its titular topic, but it does make clear what makes a bad movie." [13] Chuck Bowen of Slant Magazine rated it 2/4 stars and wrote, "The film is watchable in a plodding one-thing-after-another sort of way, but it could have used far more of King's mordant humor". [14] Patrick Cooper of Bloody Disgusting rated it 1/5 stars and called it the worst King adaptation yet due to its lack of thrills. [15] Staci Layne Wilson of Dread Central rated it 3/5 stars and questioned the choice of source material. Wilson said that the actors are good, but they have no chemistry, which makes the film stale. [16]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Duvall</span> American actor (born 1931)

Robert Selden Duvall is an American actor. With a career spanning seven decades, he is regarded as one of the greatest actors of all time. He is the recipient of an Academy Award, four Golden Globe Awards, a BAFTA Award, two Primetime Emmy Awards, and a Screen Actors Guild Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joan Allen</span> American actress

Joan Allen is an American actress. Known for her work on stage and screen, she has received a Tony Award as well as nominations for three Academy Awards, a BAFTA Award, three Primetime Emmy Awards, and three Golden Globe Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Angie Dickinson</span> American actress (born 1931)

Angie Dickinson is an American retired actress. She began her career on television, appearing in many anthology series during the 1950s, before gaining her breakthrough role in Gun the Man Down (1956) with James Arness and the Western film Rio Bravo (1959) with John Wayne and Dean Martin, for which she received the Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year.

<i>The Contender</i> (2000 film) 2000 American film

The Contender is a 2000 American political drama film written and directed by Rod Lurie. It stars Gary Oldman, Joan Allen, Jeff Bridges and Christian Slater. The film focuses on a fictional United States president and the events surrounding his appointment of a new vice president (Allen).

Joanna Gleason is a Canadian-American actress and singer. She is a Tony Award–winning musical theatre actress and has also had a number of notable film and TV roles. She is known for originating the role of the Baker's Wife in Stephen Sondheim's Into the Woods for which she won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical. She is also known for her film work in Mike Nichols' Heartburn (1986), Woody Allen's Hannah and Her Sisters (1986) and Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989), and Paul Thomas Anderson's Boogie Nights (1997). She has had television roles in shows such as ER, Friends, The West Wing, The Good Wife and The Affair.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shelley Duvall</span> American actress and producer (1949–2024)

Shelley Alexis Duvall was an American actress and producer. Known for her collaborations with Robert Altman and for playing eccentric characters, she won a Cannes Film Festival Award and was nominated for a British Academy Film Award and two Emmy Awards. Four of her films are preserved in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bob Balaban</span> American actor (born 1945)

Robert Elmer Balaban is an American actor, director, producer and writer. Aside from his acting career, Balaban has directed three feature films, in addition to numerous television episodes and films, and was one of the producers nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture for Gosford Park (2001), in which he also appeared. He is also an author of children's novels.

Psychological thriller is a genre combining the thriller and psychological fiction genres. It is commonly used to describe literature or films that deal with psychological narratives in a thriller or thrilling setting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christina Hendricks</span> American actress

Christina Rene Hendricks is an American actress and former model. With an extensive career on screen and stage, she has received various accolades, including six Primetime Emmy Award nominations, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and two Critics' Choice Awards for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series. She is known for her role as Joan Harris in the critically acclaimed AMC drama series Mad Men. In 2010, a poll of female readers taken by Esquire magazine named her "the sexiest woman in the world". She was also voted "Best Looking Woman in America".

<i>Broken Trail</i> 2006 TV film

Broken Trail is a 2006 Western television miniseries directed by Walter Hill and starring Robert Duvall and Thomas Haden Church. Written by Alan Geoffrion, who also wrote the novel, the story is about an aging cowboy and his nephew who transport 500 horses from Oregon to Wyoming to sell them to the British Army. Along the way, their simple horse drive is complicated when they rescue five Chinese girls from a slave trader, saving them from a life of prostitution and indentured servitude. Compelled to do the right thing, they take the girls with them as they continue their perilous trek across the frontier, followed by a vicious gang of killers sent by the whorehouse madam who originally paid for the girls.

<i>Dolores Claiborne</i> (film) 1995 film by Taylor Hackford

Dolores Claiborne is a 1995 American psychological thriller drama film directed by Taylor Hackford and starring Kathy Bates, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Christopher Plummer, and David Strathairn. The screenplay by Tony Gilroy is based on the 1992 novel of the same name by Stephen King. The plot focuses on the strained relationship between a mother and her daughter, largely told through flashbacks, after her daughter arrives to her remote hometown on a Maine island where her mother has been accused of murdering the elderly woman for whom she had long been a care-provider and companion.

<i>Through the Eyes of a Killer</i> 1992 American TV series or program

Through the Eyes of a Killer is a 1992 American made-for-television thriller film starring Richard Dean Anderson and Marg Helgenberger. It was based on the Christopher Fowler story "The Master Builder".

<i>Exception to the Rule</i> 1997 Canadian-German film by David Winning

Exception To The Rule is a 1997 Canadian-German erotic thriller film directed by David Winning and stars Kim Cattrall, Eric McCormack, Sean Young and William Devane.

<i>A Good Marriage</i> Novella by Stephen King

A Good Marriage is a novella by American writer Stephen King, published in the collection Full Dark, No Stars (2010).

<i>11.22.63</i> 2016 American thriller miniseries

11.22.63 is an American science fiction thriller television miniseries based on the 2011 novel 11/22/63 by Stephen King, and consisting of eight episodes, in which a time traveler attempts to stop the assassination of John F. Kennedy. The series is executive-produced by J. J. Abrams, King, Bridget Carpenter, and Bryan Burk, and produced by James Franco, who also starred in the main role. It premiered on Hulu on February 15, 2016, and was received positively by critics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kristen Connolly</span> American actress (born 1980)

Kristen Connolly is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Dana Polk in the 2011 film The Cabin in the Woods, Christina Gallagher on the Netflix series House of Cards and Jamie Campbell on the CBS series Zoo.

<i>Mr. Mercedes</i> Book by Stephen King

Mr. Mercedes is a crime novel by American writer Stephen King. He calls it his first hard-boiled detective book. It was published on June 3, 2014. It is the first volume in a trilogy, followed in 2015 by Finders Keepers, the first draft of which was finished around the time Mr. Mercedes was published, and End of Watch in 2016.

<i>Jayhawkers</i> (film) 2014 American film

Jayhawkers is a 2014 American sports drama/biographical film directed by Kevin Willmott, following the life of Wilt Chamberlain, Phog Allen, and the 1956–57 Kansas Jayhawks men's basketball team. Former Kansas basketball player Scot Pollard portrays B. H. Born in the film.

<i>The Calling</i> (2014 film) 2014 Canadian crime thriller film

The Calling is a 2014 Canadian crime thriller film adapted from the 2008 novel of the same name by Michael Redhill. The film stars Susan Sarandon, Gil Bellows, Ellen Burstyn, Topher Grace, Donald Sutherland, and Christopher Heyerdahl.

<i>Big Driver</i> (film) 2014 American TV series or program

Big Driver is a 2014 American crime thriller television film based on the novella of the same name by Stephen King, published in his collection Full Dark, No Stars (2010). It was directed by Mikael Salomon and written by Richard Christian Matheson.

References

  1. ↑ McNary, Dave (2014-06-09). "Stephen King's 'A Good Marriage' Scares Up U.S. Distribution". Variety .
  2. ↑ "How Stephen King adapted 'A Good Marriage' for film: 'Fearlessly'". Entertainment Weekly. 2014-08-18. Retrieved 2014-08-18.
  3. ↑ Wiseman, Andreas (19 May 2012). "Atlas bears Stephen King thriller A Good Marriage". Screendaily . Retrieved 2013-12-17.
  4. ↑ Kit, Borys (9 November 2012). "Joan Allen Closes Deal to Star in Stephen King Adaptation 'A Good Marriage'". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved 2013-12-17.
  5. ↑ Wenzl, Roy (2014-09-27). "BTK's daughter: Stephen King 'exploiting my father's 10 victims and their families' with movie". The Wichita Eagle . Retrieved 2015-02-19.
  6. ↑ "Stephen King's A Good Marriage (2014)". Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved 2015-02-19.
  7. ↑ "Stephen King's A Good Marriage". Metacritic . Retrieved 2015-02-19.
  8. ↑ Scheck, Frank (2014-10-22). "'Stephen King's A Good Marriage': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved 2015-02-19.
  9. ↑ Webster, Andy (2014-10-02). "Till Death Do Us Part". The New York Times . Retrieved 2015-02-19.
  10. ↑ Goldstein, Gary (2014-10-02). "Review 'A Good Marriage' a wry, old-fashioned game of cat and mouse". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved 2015-02-19.
  11. ↑ Vonder Haar, Peter (2014-10-01). "Finding Out Your Husband is a Serial Killer in Stephen King's A Good Marriage". The Village Voice . Retrieved 2015-02-19.
  12. ↑ Pocowatchit, Rod (2014-10-10). "Movie review: Stephen King's 'A Good Marriage' a mediocre thriller". The Wichita Eagle . Retrieved 2015-02-19.
  13. ↑ Reardon, Kiva (2014-10-02). "Stephen King adapts a bad movie out of his own A Good Marriage". The A.V. Club . Retrieved 2015-02-19.
  14. ↑ Bowen, Chuck (2014-09-28). "Stephen King's A Good Marriage". Slant Magazine . Retrieved 2015-02-19.
  15. ↑ Cooper, Patrick (2014-10-03). "[Review] 'A Good Marriage' Is the Worst Stephen King Movie Yet". Bloody Disgusting . Retrieved 2015-02-19.
  16. ↑ Wilsn, Staci Layne (2014-09-29). "Stephen King's A Good Marriage (2014)". Dread Central . Retrieved 2015-02-19.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.