The Secret Lives of Dentists (2003)
Runtime: 1 hr 44 mins
Theatrical Release: Aug 1, 2003 Limited
Box Office: $3,637,833
Synopsis: Hope Davis and Campbell Scott play married dentists in this insightful dramatic comedy from director Alan Rudolph (AFTERGLOW, DOROTHY PARKER AND THE VICIOUS CIRCLE). Based on the novel THE AGE OF GRIEF by Jane Smiley, the story begins with husband David's suspicion that his wife (and mother... Hope Davis and Campbell Scott play married dentists in this insightful dramatic comedy from director Alan Rudolph (AFTERGLOW, DOROTHY PARKER AND THE VICIOUS CIRCLE). Based on the novel THE AGE OF GRIEF by Jane Smiley, the story begins with husband David's suspicion that his wife (and mother of their three adorable daughters) is having an affair. The details of their family life and David's mounting suspicion are brilliantly evoked via overlapping dialogue, great editing, and masterful camerawork. David's jealous mind soars onto some hilarious flights of fancy and eventually caustic comedian Denis Leary turns up as his cigar-smoking alter-ego, expressing all the independent and antisocial traits David has tried so long to repress for the sake of his family. All of this culminates in a hilarious yet harrowing week when the family is hit by a flu virus. SECRET LIVES' performances are very strong, with Scott proving himself an actor of great restraint and subtlety. The young actresses who play the daughters are uniformly talented, as is Robin Tunney (THE CRAFT) as a dental assistant. The lion's share of credit is due to director Rudolph, who is in top form with this film, displaying his mastery of the ensemble cast, camera, and audio tricks; Rudolph and his mentor, Robert Altman, are of the few directors capable of working with such perceptive, funny, and warmly human results. [More]
Genre: Dramas
Starring: Campbell Scott, Hope Davis, Denis Leary, Robin Tunney, Gianna Beleno
Screenwriter: David Newman, Alan Rudolph
Producer: George Van Buskirk, Campbell Scott
Composer: Gary DiMichele
DVD Info
Release:
Jan 27, 2004
DVD Features:
- Region 1
- Keep Case
- Widescreen
Audio:
- Dolby Digital 5.1 - English
Additional Release Material:
- Gag Reel
- Audio Commentary - 1. Alan Rudolph - Director
- Featurette -1. Sundance Channel's Anatomy of a Scene
- Deleted Scenes
Buy It On DVD
Reviews
Retrata com sensibilidade o cotidiano de uma família em crise e representa mais uma prova dos talentos de Scott e Davis.
One of those quietly brilliant indies, so small in scope that it takes a little extra attention to appreciate how deeply it plunges into its characters.
The Secret Lives of Dentists is a provocative title, promising much more than this domestic melodrama is able to deliver.
...[T]he potency is abrogated by Rudolph’s indulgent pretension of including Scott’s personified conscience in the form of an obstreperous patient...
Rudolph's fondness for angular, oblique characterization is ideally suited to the movie's incidental story of sublimated feelings and contradictory impulses.
Domestic scenes with the kids are drawn with letter-perfect naturalism.
For me (unlike some critics who have embraced this film), Leary becomes so persistent, so grating and so bloody irritating that I want to scream: Stop the madness! End the pain!
Refuses to chuck us under our chins and tell us everything is OK.
[Campbell Scott gives] a brilliant performance, with hints of humor, rage and agony all lurking around the edges.
There are movies that have a way of hitting you at a certain time in your life, and this study of being married with young children speaks in satisfying ways.
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