BRILLIANTLY written and acted, In Treatment has been ludicrously hidden away on Sky Arts, but this DVD release should finally bring it the mainstream attention it deserves. HBO’s therapy-based drama helped me fill the void left by the end of The Wire and that took some doing. We follow Paul Weston (Gabriel Byrne), a middle-aged Irish American therapist, as he sees his patients on their weekly visit. So every Monday, we get Laura (the beautiful Melissa George), the troubled young doctor who falls in love with him, Tuesday brings US bomber pilot Alex wrestling with his conscience after killing civilians, Wednesday suicidal teenager Sophie and Thursday self-destructive couple Jake and Amy. At times, you marvel as Paul dissects his patients and unravels the reasons behind their troubles. But his own marriage is falling apart and he begins to doubt the value of his own profession, especially in his regular battles with his own therapist, Gina. A superior piece of TV-making.
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The Ugly Truth (15)
ABBY (Katherine Heigl) is a talented producer on a TV show who cannot find a man to win her heart. Her negative perception of men is enforced by the arrival of chauvinistic guest commentator Mike Chadway (Gerard Butler), who makes a bold claim: By following his directions, Abby can seduce handsome next-door neighbour, Colin. The producer nervously agrees to become Mike’s protege, and as his out-dated theories reap rewards, the chauvinist realises that Abby could be the woman of his dreams, too. The Ugly Truth is as reassuringly predictable as it is unexpectedly foul-mouthed with a voracious appetite for sex talk that marks out the film as distinctly adult fare. The new romantic comedy from director Robert Luketic (Legally Blonde) is very funny in places and politically incorrect to the point of offensiveness in others.
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The Time Traveler’s Wife (12)
BASED on Audrey Niffenegger’s bestseller, Rachel McAdams and Eric Bana star as Henry and Clare, two people preordained to fall in love. Henry discovers he suffers from a rare genetic disorder, when his ability to time travel saves him from a fatal car crash. Unwilling to forge lasting emotional connections, Henry meets beautiful artist Clare, who reveals: “I’ve known you since I was six years old.”
Fulfilling destiny, Henry and Clare fall in love and share his secret with their friend Gomez and his wife Charisse. Henry and Clare try to conceive, but his genetics result in numerous miscarriages, so they turn in desperation to geneticist Dr David Kendrick. Robert Schwentke’s film tugs at the heart-strings, but does undoubtedly feel slightly schmaltzy. It builds to a finale that proves while love defies class, religion and social status, it cannot completely transcend time.
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