Hope Springs

Let's face it, it's hard not to like anything that the wonderful Meryl Streep does these days.
In yet another example of how the trailer doesn't do the movie justice, Hope Springs sees Streep team up with Tommy Lee Jones for a drama about a couple whose marriage is dying. The trailer will have you believe it is a whimsical comedy (does have some funny moments, though).
Streep is Kay, a housewife stuck in Groundhog Day-style life with her husband Arnold (Jones) and she isn't happy. They hardly speak, the sleep in different rooms and they haven't been intimate for years.
She decides to try an intensive couples therapy, dragging a resisting Arnold to Hope Springs to meet with Dr Feld (Steve Carrell) in an effort to save their marriage.
Arnold thinks there's nothing to save, he doesn't see any problems and is rather grumpy and dismissive of the process. This is much to Kay's disappointment.
As Feld digs deeper into their relationship, or lack thereof lately, we find out what attracted them to each other when they were younger and how their marriage just started to fade at a time when it was supposed to be at its most fun.
I must admit there are some uncomfortable scenes here, but that depends on how you feel about people in their 60s attempting to have sex and performing acts of foreplay.
It's done fairly tastefully though, and quite tongue in cheek mostly.
Naturally, this is another vehicle for Streep. It's directed by David Frankel (The Devil Wears Prada) and Streep is engaging and touching as a woman desperate to restore the love and passion to her marriage. Tommy Lee Jones is his usual gruff self but you can also see through Arnold's eyes here - and there's a great metaphor about a client of his who he's had the same conversation with for 17 years. When you see it you'll know why it's poignant.
Hope Springs is a little misleading in a way, you think you're in for something fairly light-hearted - and there are funny moments - but it's actually quite sad and stark in the way it depicts a marriage that is dying. Does it get saved? Well, you'll have to see to find out.
Not exactly what I was expecting but Meryl is fantastic, Steve Carrell isn't bad either as the therapist for that matter. A 7 out of 10.