Une femme heureuse

Having a model family and a high life status doesn't always make you happy. Because apparently having a happy relationship lies on the chemistry you have with the other person. And the chemistry here in this woman's marriage is certainly lacking. I feel even if she weren't depressed the lack of chemistry would make this marriage doomed. And yes not everyone is made for parenting and for those who don't have the right partner things can become unbearable. Is there a way out? Our heroine finds one. But not totally costless...

Granted the first 20 minutes is overly long explaining Tara's life and state of mind. The scene in the car park of the multiple mum's, with toddlers and shopping trollies was enough to do this! I also found some of the editing and photograpy a bit irksome e.g. some point of view shots. In the end though, I could relate to both characters and this is why I enjoyed it.

Gemma Arterton who plays Tara was great. Stripped of make-up, she was stark but utterly graceful. As W.B. Yeats would say "A terrible beauty is born."

For the record, this is my first review and I am not involved in the film in anyway!

Well everyone is talking about Gemma Arterton's acting being so spot on but I beg to differ. She seem to time and again loose the sense of the character she's playing. She seem to act more like a wife who is in a forced marriage where her husband is taking advantage of her and using her as sex object. Her husband played by Dominic Cooper's acting is similar specially during sex scenes.

For the first hour of the movie, I'm just waiting for Tara to leave home. Finally she does, and then I wait for her to do something. Anything. So many scenes in this movie, sometimes just one shot, raise questions and provide no answers. What is happening there? Where is she going? How will this end? Who knows? The only reason to watch is to see Gemma Arterton. She is beautiful. But she's in other movies which may be more worthwhile.

Let me start this review by saying I've never wanted children. I've never understood the societal pull for having children. Bearing in mind I'm a 48 year old man, this film gave me further confirmation that I've made the right life choice in that regard. What I loved about this film was that it confronted fears and actions rarely seen in film - that of a wife and mother needing more to life than simply giving and not taking. A wife who looks after her two children. A wife who looks after her husband. There must be more to life than being a wife and mother? Or indeed a husband and father. The Eacape was a morally complex and thought provoking film that's rarely seen - questioning the very idea of the norms of society. We all need structure. We all need love. But sometimes that's not enough. 7 out of ten.