Glass Half Empty

Rating: 7/10 (20 July 2018)

Unless we are terminally ill, prisoners of war or unemployed in the Third World, we usually have at least two ways to look at our situation in life. The couple in this film, who were apparently created by a book author, not a screenwriter or director, chose the "glass half empty" way.
They had a beautiful home, healthy children, friends, and youth, but they were miserable because they thought life was supposed to be more romantic.
I don't think their dream of that way of life is illegitimate or stupid. There are people who live in bohemian cities, toil in the arts and don't have children, and that may be a satisfying way to go. I believe that these people could have made other choices besides marriage, kids, and suburban life. But that's what they chose.
Having said that we don't see any depiction of activities in the suburbs beyond the basics. Yet suburban people often do volunteer work, have multiple hobbies, go to church, and get into the city for the arts when they can. All of those things alleviate whatever inherent boredom comes with the territory.
All these people do is dwell on their misery.
These dark commentaries on suburban life often focus on Godless sorts. People who believe that their own daily existence is the center of the universe often get disappointed when they realize that it's not. But they have nothing to fill the void.
It's true what the other reviewers said that we didn't get much in the way of initial character development, but we did get a few basics and we heard more later. I thought the acting was good, but the scenes with the disturbed son of their realtor were too frequent and too heavy handed. They should have had one good scene of dialogue with him and left it at that. He was excruciating to watch.
Don't be so sure that the film makers or author are mocking the 50s or suburbia. Through their characters they explain the pointlessness of thinking that some other romantic life is out there. For most of us this is all there is and that's o.k. The 50s or any time are what we make of them. None of the immoral decisions that people make in this film are considered cool. We see the guilt and anguish in those who commit them.
There's actually some great dialog including statements about immaturity, the annoying nature of over-talking and over-analyzing, and the fact that the grass is not always greener somewhere else.
Seven Stars. It was way too depressing to enjoy and lacked any balance in the form of say at least one couple that was genuinely happy and functional.