Twice in a Lifetime: A Review

 

TWICE IN A LIFETIME

Divorce is a major change of life, or at least it should be. Twice in a Lifetime eschews having victims and villains in its simple tale of the end of a marriage. Complex, well-acted if a bit melodramatic, Twice in a Lifetime works thanks to the way it lets adults be adults.

Working-class steel mill worker Harry McKenzie (Gene Hackman) has just turned 50. His wife, Kate (Ellen Burstyn) encourages him to go to his favorite bar to celebrate with his friends. At the bar, he finds pretty barmaid Audrey (Ann-Margret), who gives him a birthday kiss. Harry soon begins first an emotional affair, then a physical one, with Audrey. Kate remains unaware of the liaison, though there are signs, such as when Harry wears his birthday shirt gift, which he said he would save for a special occasion, for a meeting with Audrey. 

The affair is eventually discovered, with Kate cautiously asking her husband, "Harry, who's this Audrey?". The liaison devastates everyone involved, especially Harry and Kate's two daughters. The elder, Sonny (Amy Madigan) is angry and enraged, though she may be channeling her own troubled marriage to Keith (Stephen Lang) in her constant anger at Harry. The younger daughter, Helen (Ally Sheedy) is more accepting. She opts to forego her education to marry her sweetheart Tim (Chris Parker) in part to help Kate adjust to her new life both emotionally and financially.

Harry and Audrey have moved out and moved on, working to build a life together. Kate too is finding a new lease on life, getting her ear pierced, a new hairstyle and even visiting a male revue with her daughters and female friends. Will Harry and Audrey be able to start anew? Will Harry, Kate and their daughters be able to pull themselves together for Helen's wedding?

Twice in a Lifetime works because it keeps things grounded. This is a very simple, direct story of ordinary people, flawed are relatable. Colin Welland's screenplay is never flashy and let's things build up slowly. Take when Kate confronts Harry about how he was sighted with Audrey. She does not have a big emotional moment here. In fact, it is pretty quiet, calm, which ends up making things more nerve-wracking. The film cuts away from Kate's simple question, one that we the audience already know. 

We also know from the first moment Audrey shows up that she is trouble. However, it is a credit to Welland's screenplay and Bud Yorkin's direction that Audrey is not presented as some designing woman or femme fatale. Instead, she is despite her beauty a lonely woman, widowed, who found in Harry someone who could make her happy and whom she could make happy. She is aware that they are committing adultery and hurting others in the process, but Audrey in particular is conflicted about things. "We're getting a kick out of life," Harry tells her after the affair is discovered. Audrey replies somewhat wistfully, "Is it worth it?". 

Twice in a Lifetime shows more than tells, which lends the story a greater reality. For example, there is a scene where Harry and Audrey go to a Seattle Seahawks game, as he is a massive fan. Throughout the film, we see Harry wear Seahawks gear, watching Seahawks games, even getting a beautiful Seahawks jacket at the bar's birthday party from his friend Nick (Brian Dennehy). There is even a scene where he and Audrey are looking over the Seahawks' former stadium of the Kingdome. We see Audrey enthusiastically attending the game with Harry. 

It begs the question about how much if any interest Kate had in something that Harry was passionate about. Harry lived for the Seahawks, something that Audrey shared with him. However, I asked myself, "Did Kate ever go to the Kingdome?". Did she ever care about the things her husband cared about? We see that early on, Kate encouraged Harry to celebrate his 50th birthday not with her or with the family, but at the bar with his steel mill friends. She did not even bother going with him, opting to stay cloistered at their Holden, Washington home. 

This does not justify Harry's infidelity or is meant to imply that Kate did not love Harry. However, as their son Jerry (Darrell Larson) tells his perpetually enraged sister Sunny, their father needed admiration and validation. Kate did not have to share her husband's devotion to the Seahawks. However, one senses that Kate was drifting away from Harry by not being his partner. Hank may have enjoyed the sex and the thrill of a new romance. However, I think Hank also enjoyed having someone be with him, share his life and passions instead of merely being next to him.

That is one of the qualities in Twice in a Lifetime. There are no clear-cut heroes and villains. Instead, we are presented with flawed individuals, ones who make mistakes but who also have qualities. Hank, for his part, never wanted to hurt Kate or his kids. We see this in Hackman's performance, such as when he leaves the home to move in with Audrey. We also see this when he goes to Helen to ask if he can attend her wedding. This is a beautifully played scene between Hackman and Sheedy, where the love between father and daughter come through.  

Twice in a Lifetime does something very clever, intentionally or not. Late in the film, there is a contrasting set of scenes involving two groups shopping. Audrey is set on buying Hank a beautiful watch, while Kate and Helen are looking at wedding material. Here, we see how this soon-to-be-former husband and wife see things. Hank does not want a lavish watch and would be satisfied with a less expensive watch and a cheeseburger. Kate looks on various dresses and cakes, the contrast between marriage and divorce coming in clear without it being forced. 

The film is well-acted throughout. Gene Hackman makes Hank a flawed man, who does love his daughters but also finds the thrill of newness with Audrey. Ellen Burstyn makes Kate's evolution from dependent to independent look natural. She has moments of anger, but there are moments of joy in her post-marriage life. Ann-Margret was surprisingly sympathetic as the mistress who is determined to grab a little bit of happiness. "We're not just some. We're us," she scolds Hank on when he reveals that Kate knows. 

It is interesting that out of the whole cast, it was Amy Madigan who was singled out for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination. I find it curious because while she was not terrible, I did find Sunny very grating in her perpetual anger. Sunny was always angry about something, jumping in when not asked and very unforgiving. Again, I did not think it was a terrible performance, but I did find it one-note.

Twice in a Lifetime is not a celebration of divorce. I found it rather a film about accepting situations, bad as they might be, and how life can change, with people needing to move on. Perhaps not move past something but move on.     

DECISION: B-