Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		5.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

Hope Springs Blu-ray Movie Review

A genuine story and strikingly fine acting make 'Hope Springs' one of the year's best.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman November 19, 2012

A strong marriage shaped by mutual friendship, understanding, trust, and intimacy is the most rewarding experience in the world. On the other hand, a failed, failing, strained, stale, or stagnant marriage can be one of the most frustrating or, at worst, unbearable experiences. In the middle between "great" and "miserable" falls complacency, a seemingly endless sludge through the status quo in which marriage hasn't dissolved but rather devolved, that hasn't forgotten the vow of "until death do us part," but that has forgotten that "death" extends beyond the body and also includes the soul. There's nothing more beautiful than two souls in harmony, and nothing more terrible than two souls apart. Soulful togetherness -- that invisible draw and bond -- in marriage is the lifeblood of success; separate them, even while keeping the bodies close together, and a failure on some level is all but guaranteed. The quest to revitalize both the bodies and souls of marriage -- largely through the intimacy of the bodies -- is the focus of Hope Springs, Director David Frankel's (The Devil Wears Prada) Dramedy about an aging couple lost in the figurative wilderness of a devolved marriage. The movie honestly and bluntly but with humor and approachability tackles tough and touchy subjects through its journey of, hopefully, real love rekindled.

Distance.

Kay (Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia) and Arnold (Tommy Lee Jones, Men in Black 3) are "celebrating" their 31st wedding anniversary. They've given one another the gift of more channels on the television, perhaps an unconscious reinforcement of their ever-growing distance from one another. They no longer sleep in the same room. Kay wants to be closer, but Arnold naively -- or perhaps knowingly -- rejects her advances, content to remain in his personal bubble and live with his wife as a roommate rather than a spouse. Kay, as a result, has grown sexually timid and emotionally tired of the routine. She seeks out help in the form of a book and finds one written by a prestigious counselor named Dr. Feld (Steve Carell, Dinner for Schmucks). Kay is so impressed with Feld's work that she cashes out a CD and pays in advance a $4,000 fee for a weeklong "intensive" couples therapy. Arnold reluctantly agrees to come along to Maine with her, but at every turn -- in the doctor's office and out on the town -- he sees only exorbitant costs and a waste of time. Dr. Feld soon learns that he has his hands full with a very stubborn Arnold. Arnold and Kay will be his greatest challenge yet, but also, potentially, his most rewarding.

Hope Springs may be rated for teenage audiences, but the film deals with rather serious and frank adult subject matter that younger audiences might enjoy though may not fully appreciate. The picture delves honestly and without hesitation into deeply-rooted marital issues, largely in the realm of intimacy but also beyond the physical and into those problems that remove the intimacy from the equation, that suppress once-held notions of attraction and affection that fade well beyond the reach of the mere physical act of aging and even, to a degree, complacency. Still, the picture largely glosses over the spiritual side of the equation, but it finds plenty of humor and robust drama from its very much open exploration of other areas that are crucial to a successful marriage. Hope Springs benefits from a straightforward approach to adult problems and along the way tackles very serious and intimate ailments with a humorous underpinning that makes the strain of a once-beautiful marriage a little easier to accept as it, hopefully, takes steps not towards simple resolution, but a return to heartfelt love and intimacy.

Hope Springs finds its greatest success in its performances. While the idea is sound and the script genuine, the execution brings it life with the sort of involved, genuine, wholly believable flavor that's a necessity in making the characters worth caring for and lending the story the sort of dramatic strength required to grab audience attention and make them care to see it through to the end. Jones and Streep show why they're still two of the finest actors of their generation -- or any other generation, at that -- with their instant transformation into not just a believable screen couple, but the couple down the street, the people from social get-togethers, the guy at the office, the girl at the clothing shop. Their lives are wholly believable, their reproduction of routine as worn-in as a favorite hat, their relationship relatable even to those in any state of life, relationship, or romance (or lack thereof), experienced in their struggles or naive to the notion of a marriage on the rocks. Streep and Jones make common marital struggle genius screen acting, and it's their ability to not just show their marriage but to actually seem to live it and, much more importantly, feel it -- or not, as the case may be -- makes the movie a huge success. Likewise, Steve Carell is fantastic as their counselor. It's one of the most genuine, straightforward, and knowing performances in some time. His uncanny ability to see a problem beyond the veil of words and the outward defenses through the tilt of a head or a piercing glance seems almost frighteningly accurate. He handles the frank and open discussions of other people's most intimate secrets with a professionalism that befits the character and gives him the weight required to pass off as a best-selling therapist, not a fly-by-night hack. This is one of the finest-acted films of the year, of the past several years, really, a display of some of the truest-to-life performances to come around in a while.

Hope Springs Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Hope Springs features a picture-perfect high definition transfer. The digital image sparkles from the first frame to the last, from the darkest scene to the most brightly lit environment. Clarity is superb, the image remains razor-sharp throughout, and definition is unbeatable in every frame. Whether the most textured clothing, the finest facial line, or the most insignificant wood, brick, or concrete accent around town, Sony's transfer reveals every in-frame element with a precision that places the disc amongst the elites of high definition transfers. Likewise, colors dazzle at every turn. The palette is rich and balanced, handling the brightest hues and the most reserved colors alike with equal accuracy and under any lighting condition. Blacks are faultless and flesh tones are, too, only going a bit warm under influencing lighting conditions. There's not a speck of noise or a trace of blocking. Very light banding creeps across a background or two, but it rates so minimally that it doesn't deter from an otherwise stellar high definition transfer.

Hope Springs Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Hope Springs features a reserved but beautifully clear and accurate DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. The picture primarily remains a dialogue piece; the spoken word comes through with the natural clarity and realism listeners expect of a big studio new release's sound presentation. No worries there. Likewise, there's not much fault to the musical or ambient aspects, either. The former enjoys a natural richness, just the right heft, pleasant front-end spacing, but nearly nothing in the way of aggressive surround support. Ambient effects are little more interested in the rears, but they, too, usually linger across the front. Whether mood-setting nighttime ambience or the light background din of a small Maine town, Sony's track handles it all with commendable authenticity, even in a quiet supporting role only. The track doesn't have much to offer, but that makes it no less of a winner in accurately reproducing all that's asked of it.

Hope Springs Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Hope Springs contains a nice array of extra content, including an audio commentary track and several featurettes.

• Audio Commentary: Director David Frankel speaks the morning following the film's premiere. He discusses changes to the film from script to screen, story and themes, the change in title, the filmmaking process, shooting locales, music, and other basic insights into the film. Frankel does a fine job of supporting an already brilliant movie. With optional English subtitles.
• Gag-Reel (HD, 5:05).
• Exploring the Scene - Alternate Takes Gallery (HD, 17:00): Different takes on several scenes. Included are Motel Speech, Marital Gripes, First Time You Said It, and Feld's Second Wife. With optional director commentary.
• An Intimate Look at Making Hope Springs (HD, 11:39): Cast and crew speak on the plot, themes, characters and the performances, cast chemistry, the mix of drama and humor in the story, David Frankel's direction, and shooting locales.
• An Expert's Guide to Everlasting Passion (HD, 7:21): Dr. Gary Stollman, Ph.D., author of Relationship Stalemate: From Roommates to Soulamtes, speaks on how to keep a relationship from falling into the malaise depicted in the film.
• The Doctor is In: Steve Carell on Dr. Feld (HD, 3:58): Carell offers a humorous glimpse into his character and portrayal thereof.
• Inside the Perfect Movie Marriage: Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones (HD, 3:52): The actors sit down to speak on the story, script, and the characters they play.
• The Passionate Performer (HD, 6:37): Cast and crew talk up the experience of working with the legendary Meryl Streep and the qualities she brought to this role.
• Previews: Additional Sony titles.
• UV Digital Copy.

Hope Springs Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Hope Springs is one of the most intimate, comfortable, and well-acted movies of the past few years. Few films open up so easily as this, and even fewer prove so authentic in making the complex relatable, in making two characters so believable, in making a story so personal this easy to care for. It offers the perfect balance between personal drama and intimate humor. It spans a wide range of emotions, leaving audiences both laughing hysterically and crying tears of heartbreak for the characters. It's a superb picture by every stretch of the imagination, worth seeing if for no other reason than for the performances, even considering what can be some touchy areas and open discussions of a sexual nature. Sony's Blu-ray release of Hope Springs features gorgeous video, fine audio, and a very nice array of supplements. Very highly recommended.