A Married Couple

“Bring me that piece of shit.” Canadian director Allan King and his crew shoot a live broadcast featuring the collapse of Bill and Antoinette's marriage and the result is material that anticipates (far more exploitative) reality shows and is fascinating from the sociological, psychological and documentary perspectives. Through nearly the whole film, which was made by editing together scenes shot over the course of ten weeks, we are confined in the Edwards’ house, which raises the tension that hangs in the air the whole time. Both spouses struggle not only with each other, but also with the gender roles that they are expected to fulfil (she does not want to be a slave to her husband as a housewife; he is desperate because of his impotence). Though they are obviously unhappy in their marriage and it is increasingly difficult for them to hide their frustration from the camera (in the tensest scene, not even the presence of the camera can prevent Bill from physically attacking Antoinette), they attempt to carry on a sensible dialogue, look for causes and find a solution. They are not very successful in that endeavour. Due to the substantially represented performative aspect of the film, there arises the question as to where exactly A Married Couple should be placed on the “feature film – documentary” axis. Bill and Antoinette sometimes obviously play for the camera and deliberately behave and dress more outlandishly than they normally would (see, for example, Bill’s striking red briefs). Of course, their inner need to push their life together into the realm of performance also says something about them (the attempt to bring something special into the tiring routine of life in a relationship) and does not in any case diminish the genuineness of the situations when they would most like to kill each other and the situations that simply no screenwriter would ever invent (for example, the irresistibly bizarre scene about shit). Both of them have a bit of the freethinking nature of flower children in them, but they are also aware of the social pressure that forces them to act more responsibly. King’s documentary melodrama thus not only reveals the mechanism by which two people of different natures, who are eager for any silly excuse to fight, force themselves to stay in the same house, but also captures the transformation of disillusioned hippies into pragmatic yuppies who do not try to change things, but only keep them going. 80% (04.02.2018)