A Married Couple
Directed by Allan King
1969/Canada
IMDb link
First viewing?/Criterion Channel
But I had not quite fixed whether to make him [Don Juan] end in Hell-or in an unhappy marriage-not knowing which would be the severest. — Lord Byron
This fascinating “actuality drama” takes an intimate look at the breakdown of the marriage of two intolerable people.
The film chronicles the daily struggles of Billy and Antoinette Edwards, their toddler son Bogart, and their dog Merton. He is writes ads for a living. She’s a stay-at-home mother. They appear to be well-educated and relatively well-off. Director Allan King lived with the Edwardses at the time and the family appears to ignore the camera, if that is even possible. At any rate, Billy feels free to spend most of his time at home in his underwear and the couple argue and reconcile freely in the bedroom.
Billy likes to do a lot of yelling and dishing out orders. He believes that the fact that he is the sole breadwinner gives him total control over the family finances. I found him absolutely insufferable. Antoinette likes to wind him up by endlessly talking about some expensive object she covets, like a harpsicord. She appears to have lost all respect and physical desire for her husband and loves making him jealous. She is equally insufferable.They are both expert game players and frustrated manipulators.
There is no voice-over narration nor interviews in this film. It is amazingly raw. But could the participants really ignore the camera? How much of what we see has changed due to its presence. I’m kind of fascinated by relationship dynamics and I was glad I saw the film.
