I imagine that Hope Springs is one of those films that suffers from unfortunate marketing. The previews make it feel more like a romantic comedy from the pages of Nora Ephron or Gary or Penny Marshall than what it actually is: an uncomfortable look at growing old and the resentment that might come after thirty-one years of marriage. Kay (Meryl Streep) and Arnold (Tommy Lee Jones) are a couple stuck in their roles – with Arnold being much more comfortable in his curmudgeonliness that Kay is in her apparently loveless marriage.
Ostensibly, they are more akin to roommates sharing a house than a relationship, much less a marriage. Kay and Arnold both wake early, but they sleep in separate bedrooms, so their encounters are delayed until Arnold emerges in a suit and tie, carrying his briefcase, for breakfast. He sits. Kay places the plate with the familiar two sunnyside-up eggs and a strip of bacon in front of Arnold, and he proceeds to read the paper, facing away from Kay.
In a last ditch effort to repair their marriage, Kay books a week of intensive couples therapy in Maine. The therapist in session is Dr. Bernard Feld (Steve Carell). Anyone misguided by Carell’s role as a comedic actor should probably avoid this film. Any humor is sardonic and uncomfortable. Carell’s smile throughout the discomfort is fitting for a therapist, but disconcerting in that even his arched eyebrows and optimism nearly wane under the heaviness of the resentment spewed from these two.
Hope Springs treats each session between Kay and Arnold with the earnestness and honesty they deserve. The issues are bountiful and the roads they must travel are filled with impediments. In other words, this film does not suggest that relationships are magically fixed. They are not serendipitous. They are filled with hurdles, and comfort might be the biggest enemy of a marriage.
All in all, Hope Springs feels more realistic than other films that purport to be about the human condition. It highlights the fluctuating interactions between husband and wife. The closeness and the distance are both endearing and isolating. And the biggest benefit to this film is the presence of Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones. Even though Jones’ character is often overly cynical and pessimistic, the script does this character justice, alluding to his aggression.
Hope Springs assigns mutual blame, contradicting the meek and friendly portrayal of Streep’s Kay. She’s deeper than a pent up housewife. And Arnold is more complex than the sexually disinterested man he appears to be during the unflinching moments of their sessions with Dr. Feld.
