Vidas perfectas

I think this film is brilliantly done. Anyone of a certain age remembers the way of life during the time period in which this is set and it's a thriller play on words, so to speak. The setting and style is spot on down to the smallest detail, to the point the thriller story itself is the secondary plot. I suspect certain generations may not quite get the significance. Chastain and Hathaway played their roles perfectly. I give this a high score because I do appreciate the nuances of life unfolding on screen and the sort of Hitchock'ish ... but not...chilling thriller innuendo that presents. I totally get it and I totally liked it.

The movie universe it so saturated these days that a film with two Oscar winning actresses in the lead roles can come out and almost no one will ever hear about it. It doesn't help that the film has a title that sounds like a Lifetime film and a poster that is unimaginably bland. Seriously? No one could come up with anything better than just the two of them standing side by side?

Which is all a shame because the film is decent. In fairness it's my kind of movie, so I'm probably going to enjoy it more than most. But as far as reasonably grounded domestic thrillers go, this had all the right ingredients. A catastrophic event leading to major consequences with some mystery and darker themes lurking beneath the surface. Sign me up.

The old trope of the annoying child is going to bug a few people. Hollywood has been fixing this a bit more often in recent times, but this film had a big serving of it. However if you simply want to see two pretty good actresses going toe to toe in a surprisingly heavy film then this may be up your alley. 7.5/10.

This movie seemed like a modern take on "The Hand that Rocks the Cradle". It's quite the thriller, though for a while you're never sure if it's meant to be a thriller or drama. It had an unusual pace, which isn't a bad thing, but definitely didn't feel like your typical American movie. Especially the ending.

It's not an easy movie to watch, but it's worth it. It's also a fairly unique story and there should be more movies centered around toxic female friendships. We've all had them, it's time to acknowledge them and make useful stories of them. This is a good start.

Jessica Chastain really came alive in this the most out of everyone and was the most believable, but the others were good too. I'm not sure if I would watch it again now that I know the story, but if it had better dialogue it would be enough to come back for seconds.

I am a guy and this movie is primarily about the relationship between two women, two mothers, each with a husband and an 8-yr-old son. So I didn't know if I would enjoy it but I like both actresses, Chastain and Hathaway, so I watched it out of trust that they would not participate in a poor movie. It is actually a remake of a 2018 French movie "Duelles", with the same character names and the same basic story.

Filmed in New Jersey, the story is set in the 1960s, in one scene they are talking about whether new president JFK was too young, and one of the ladies says Jackie will run things anyway. Jessica Chastain is Alice and Anne Hathaway is Céline. They live next door to each other in a middle class neighborhood and each has a key to the other home. Their sons are best friends.

Then a tragedy strikes and that changes all the friend and family dynamics. It quickly develops into a very dark story as the family losses pile up and it is hard to say which are the stable ones. The ending was a total surprise to me, and is a very dark conclusion.

While it turns out to be a not very pleasant movie I enjoyed the viewing experience. My wife skipped, somehow she thought she had already watched the movie. Did she really?

At home, on DVD from my public library.

Let me start by saying this: the movie wasn't spectacular, but it certainly wasn't bad either. What I can confidently say is that it was intriguing, unpredictable, and refreshingly different. With two of the most talented actresses of our time sharing the screen, the performances were absolutely top-notch. The cinematography, with its vibrant and colorful 80s setting, was beautifully done and immediately drew me in.

What really stood out for me, though, was the story. It was unique, and the ending felt like a breath of fresh air. It's rare to see a film take that kind of direction these days, and it was a pleasant surprise.

The reason I wouldn't call it spectacular is because I think the story had the potential to be even more engaging. It felt like the director played it a bit safe and could have pushed the boundaries more. That said, the ending leaves room for a possible sequel, so who knows what's next!