Hope Springs (2012 film)

Hope Springs

Theatrical release poster
Directed by David Frankel
Produced by Todd Black
Guymon Casady
Brian Bell
Written by Vanessa Taylor
Starring Meryl Streep
Tommy Lee Jones
Steve Carell
Music by Theodore Shapiro
Cinematography Florian Ballhaus
Edited by Steven Weisberg
Production
company
Distributed by Columbia Pictures
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release dates
  • August 8, 2012
Running time
 100 minutes[1]
Country United States
Language English
Budget $30 million[2]
Box office $114,281,051[3]

Hope Springs[4] is a 2012 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by David Frankel, written by Vanessa Taylor, and starring Meryl Streep, Tommy Lee Jones and Steve Carell. The film was released on August 8, 2012. It received generally positive reviews and the cast was praised for their performances. It was nominated for a Golden Globe, and won a People's Choice Award.

Plot

Although a devoted couple, empty nesters Kay and Arnold Soames (Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones) are in need of (in Kay's opinion) help to reignite the spark in their marriage. They have slept in separate rooms for years since their youngest child went off to college, and forgo any physical affection. One day Kay (who works as a Coldwater Creek employee) tells Arnold (a partner in an Omaha accounting firm) she has paid for them to undergo a week of intense marriage counseling with Dr. Bernie Feld (Steve Carell) in a coastal resort town in Maine. Arnold, a creature of plodding, unimaginative routine, denies their marriage is in trouble.

In sessions with Dr. Feld they (mainly Kay) try to articulate their feelings, revitalize their relationship, and find the spark that caused them to fall in love in the first place. Dr. Feld counsels them, asking increasingly frank questions about their sex life and feelings. Arnold is angry and defensive, unwilling to see the depth of his wife's disappointment. Angry and crying, Kay goes alone to a bar where she has several glasses of wine, confides in the bartendress and learns that few others are having any sex, either. Arnold visits a nautical museum.

Back together, they spend the night in the same bed for the first time in years, and Kay awakes to find Arnold's arm around her. At this sign of progress, Dr. Feld urges new measures. They make halting attempts at intimacy on the bed of their budget motel and again in a movie theater, but this time with disastrous results.

In a one-on-one session, Dr. Feld explains to Arnold that couples seeking marriage counseling are doing so for a reason, and asks Arnold frankly, "Is this the best you can do?" Arnold finally takes the initiative to arrange a romantic dinner and a night at a luxury inn, where they attempt to make love in front of a fireplace, but the grand design fails. At their final session, Dr. Feld tells them they've made much progress and should take up couples therapy back home.

Back in Omaha, old habits resume. Kay offers to pet-sit for a fellow employee and packs a bag to stay there, as a first step in a permanent break with Arnold. That night, both are shown in bed trying to sleep. Arnold enters his wife's bedroom and they tenderly embrace. The lovemaking that follows is warm, natural, and quietly passionate. The next morning it's clear that the marriage is in a whole new place. Later that year, as Kay said she fantasized, they renew their wedding vows on a beach with Dr. Feld and their grown children present, making promises to be more understanding and considerate of each other.

Cast

Production

The project was first announced in 2010 with Streep and Jeff Bridges in talks for the leads[5] and Mike Nichols attached as director.[6] Bridges soon dropped out,[7] and James Gandolfini and Philip Seymour Hoffman were soon attached to the project.[8]

The project then replaced Nichols with David Frankel,[9] without the involvement of Ganfoldini and Hoffman. Steve Carell joined the cast in February 2011,[10] with Tommy Lee Jones replacing Bridges in the opposite lead.[11]

Filming took place in September and October 2011 in Connecticut.[12][13]

Reception

Reviews were mostly positive, with critics praising the cast, particularly Streep, Jones, and Carell.[14] On Metacritic, which assigns a weighted mean rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the film scored a 65 out of 100, indicating "generally positive reviews".[15] The film holds a 74% approval rating on aggregate review site Rotten Tomatoes with an average score of 6.6/10, based on 159 reviews. The site's consensus states "Led by a pair of mesmerizing performances from Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones, Hope Springs offers filmgoers some grown-up laughs -- and a thoughtful look at mature relationships."[16] Rex Reed of The New York Observer praised the film, saying "I think everything about the movie is too subtle and real to appeal to the Batman demographic, but for mature audiences who have forgotten how to smile, it takes up where The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel left off."[17] Angie Errigo of Empire magazine felt that while the film was "Very funny, it's also penetrating on the ravages of time on love and marriage and sweetly touching, but with abundantly incongruous randy content to heartily amuse."[18] Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times praised the performance of Jones, writing, "The reason to see it is for Jones. This man who can stride fearlessly through roles requiring strong, determined men, this actor who can seem in complete control, finds a character here who seems unlike any other he has played and plays it bravely."[19]

Accolades

Year Award Category Result Recipient
2013
70th Golden Globe Awards Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy Nominated Meryl Streep
39th People's Choice Awards Favorite Dramatic Movie Actress
Favorite Movie Icon Won

Home media

Hope Springs was released on DVD and Blu-ray Disc on December 5, 2012.

References

  1. ↑ "Title « British Board of Film Classification". Bbfc.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-08-22.
  2. ↑ Kaufman, Amy (2012-08-09). "'The Bourne Legacy' to dominate 'The Campaign,' 'Hope Springs'". latimes.com. Retrieved 2012-08-22.
  3. ↑ "Hope Springs". Boxofficemojo.com. Retrieved 2012-11-07.
  4. ↑ Bill (2012-04-25). "First Trailer for HOPE SPRINGS Starring Tommy Lee Jones, Meryl Streep and Steve Carell". Collider. Retrieved 2012-07-27.
  5. ↑ "Meryl Streep and Jeff Bridges think Great Hope Springs". Retrieved February 7, 2012.
  6. ↑ "Mike Nichols Eyes New Film". Retrieved February 7, 2012.
  7. ↑ "Jeff Bridges Won't Marry Meryl Streep In Great Hope Springs After All". Retrieved February 7, 2012.
  8. ↑ "Meryl Streep, James Gandolfini, and Philip Seymour Hoffman May Star in Mike Nichols’ GREAT HOPE SPRINGS". Retrieved February 7, 2012.
  9. ↑ "Meryl Streep Heads To 'Great Hope Springs' With 'Devil Wears Prada' Director David Frankel". Retrieved February 7, 2012.
  10. ↑ "Steve Carell Will Counsel Meryl Streep In Great Hope Springs". Retrieved February 7, 2012.
  11. ↑ "Tommy Lee Jones to Join Meryl Streep and Steve Carell in GREAT HOPE SPRINGS". Retrieved February 7, 2012.
  12. ↑ "Meryl Streep movie to film in Milford". Retrieved February 7, 2012.
  13. ↑ Donahue, Casey. "Steve Carell Films, Greets Fans In Darien". The Darien Daily Voice. Retrieved 19 July 2012.
  14. ↑ Phillips, Michael. "'Hope Springs': Can this marriage be saved? ★★★". Chicago Tribune.
  15. ↑ "Hope Springs Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 11 May 2014.
  16. ↑ "Hope Springs (2012)". Rotten Tomatoes. March 5, 2013. Retrieved September 7, 2013.
  17. ↑ Reed, Rex. "Hope Springs Sees Meryl Streep and Tommy Lee Jones Rejuvenate Parched Cinematic Terrain". New York Observer. Retrieved 11 May 2014.
  18. ↑ Errigo, Angie. Empire http://www.empireonline.com/reviews/reviewcomplete.asp?FID=137248. Retrieved 11 May 2014. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  19. ↑ Ebert, Roger. "Hope Springs Movie Review". Retrieved 11 May 2014.

External links