Style Weekly
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Rental Unit
"We don't live here anymore"
Director John J. Curran, working from a script adapted from a series of short stories by Andre Dubus ("In the Bedroom"), has a doozy of a setup in hand. His foursome almost shoot sparks every time they come into contact, and their encounters bode well for excruciating self-discoveries — and an immaculate disaster. Although the movie reaches for both, surprisingly we get neither.
The first two-thirds of this engaging story dissolve in a last-act fit of lame soul- searching. Perhaps the blame falls on script adapter Larry Gross, whose résumé includes a large amount of made-for-TV material. As it happens, "We Don't Live Here Anymore" cops out with a melodramatic, movie-of-the-week finale best suited for the Lifetime channel. It is a modest entertainer, but when it comes to facing the tough questions, it can't bring itself to say "I do." — Wayne Melton
The first two-thirds of this engaging story dissolve in a last-act fit of lame soul- searching. Perhaps the blame falls on script adapter Larry Gross, whose résumé includes a large amount of made-for-TV material. As it happens, "We Don't Live Here Anymore" cops out with a melodramatic, movie-of-the-week finale best suited for the Lifetime channel. It is a modest entertainer, but when it comes to facing the tough questions, it can't bring itself to say "I do." — Wayne Melton
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