A Good Marriage (Stephen King): A Movie Review

I was flicking through Netflix questioning what to watch when I stumbled upon a movie by Stephen King: A Good Marriage. I wasn't familiar with this story (a shock that must be rectified) and I didn't think he penned any screen plays recently. If I remember correctly, the film was rated 2/5 stars. I took a chance at it anyway. SPOILERS FOLLOW!

Note the side eye that seems to cut right through you...as if to say, Really?

The two main cast Joan Allen (Darcy) and Anthony LaPaglia (Bob) are husband and wife, celebrating 25 years of a good marriage, until Darcy discovers her husband's dark secret.  She finds out her husband is a serial killer. He is a sweet guy, a bit controlling, and with an infliction for bounding and torturing females, but he is willing to stop all this to please his wife. Meanwhile Darcy plays along, buying time to find a way to kill him.

Allen and LaPaglia are strong enough actors individually. However, they lacked a chemistry that I think a story like this needs. There's an intimacy in secrets and holding on to them can be destructive. That power is missing on screen. In layman's terms, Darcy and Bob are boring (I can't speak for the duo on print. I'll review them another time). They are as boring as their rare coin collecting hobby. Bob doesn't appear to struggle as he renounces his killing spree. Darcy doesn't have it in her to watch a horror flick, but somehow manages to think of ways to kill her husband. Opportunities to explore the drama of living with and trying to kill a serial killer are missed. This should've been Mr. and Mrs. Smith the Silver Years or maybe the infamous Dexter except this time his wife Rita is still alive and trying to kill him.

I forgot to mention a stalkerish figure that surrounds Darcy, who reveals himself to be a detective. That twist just isn't enough to make up for the lack of emotional investment there's for Darcy.

For these missed exploratory opportunities, the film's plot remains stationary, which contributes to it's overall boredom. It's hard to believe that the King of horror lit agreed to have his name associated with this project.

I agree with Netflix viewers and rate this film 2 of 5 stars. I watched A Good Marriage on Netflix, and I'm sure it is streaming and open to purchase on most other VoD sites.