Themes: Crumbling Marriages, Suburban Dysfunction, Fantasy Life
Main Cast: Campbell Scott, Hope Davis, Denis Leary, Robin Tunney, Gianna Beleno
Release Year: 2002
Country: US
Run Time: 101 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
A gentle man suddenly finds himself at a loss for what to do when he suspects his wife has been unfaithful in this comedy drama from director Alan Rudolph. David and Dana Hurst (Campbell Scott and Hope Davis) are a married couple with three children who also happen to be dentists who share an office. David is a quiet and reserved sort, while Dana has been quietly but obviously unhappy with things recently. Backstage at a community theater production, David sees Dana in the arms of another man and is immediately certain she's having an affair, a suspicion only deepened by her continued dark mood, long periods of silence, and frequent trips out of the house. Slater (Denis Leary) is a disgruntled patient of the Hursts who has gone public with his unhappiness over their work; as David tries to work out Slater's differences, Slater becomes a frequent (and not always welcome) visitor in David's home. As he observes the obvious tension in David and Dana's relationship, Slater begins offering his own gruff brand of advice to David -- including acting cooler and informing Dana "I could kill you" at the dinner table. Co-produced by leading man Campbell Scott, The Secret Lives of Dentists was based on the novel The Age of Grief by Jane Smiley. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Review
Loosely adapted by screenwriter Craig Lucas (A Prelude to a Kiss) from Jane Smiley's novella The Age of Grief, Alan Rudolph's The Secret Lives of Dentists stands alongside the underrated director's best work. It's a smart and surprisingly moving dark comedy about the impossibility of marriage. Campbell Scott delivers yet another richly nuanced performance, as David Hurst, a tightly wound dentist whose wife's apparent infidelity brings a dangerous glimmer of his rage to the surface. Scott directed co-stars Hope Davis and Denis Leary in the disappointing Final, and his apparent rapport with these talented performers sets the film aglow. Davis, who plays Dana, Scott's dentist wife, wrings the emotional truth out of her every moment onscreen. Leary's role lends an element of Fight Club-style fantasy to an otherwise painstakingly realistic look at family life, and as such, may seem an unwelcome intrusion to some viewers, especially since the inner workings of David's mind are already spelled out in voice-over. But, in essentially giving voice to David's id, Leary again demonstrates his knack for turning finely honed hostility into cathartic comedy. The most profound insights of the film come in its beautifully detailed depiction of its characters' home and work lives, including David's fantasies and reminiscences about his life. Rudolph, who hasn't worked much with child actors, gets amazingly funny, true-to-life performances from the three girls who play the Hurst daughters, Gianna Beleno, Cassidy Hinkle, and Lydia Jordan. Robin Tunney's fine work, in a smallish role as David's assistant, points up another virtue of the film (and, in fact, in most of Rudolph's work). There's always a sense of life going on beyond the edges of the frame that keeps the film grounded in reality, and that adds to its surprising resonance. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
Cassidy Hinkle - Leah Hurst; Lydia Jordan - Stephanie Hurst; Jon Patrick Walker - Mark; Kevin Carroll - Dr. Danny; Kate Clinton - Elaine
Credit
Anna Louizos - Art Director, Pam Dixon - Casting, Jonathan Filley - Co-producer, Amy Westcott - Costume Designer, Jan Sebastian Ballhaus - First Assistant Director, Alan Rudolph - Director, Andy Keir - Editor, Martin Garvey - Executive Producer, Bruce Cowen - Executive Producer, Michael Lauer - Executive Producer, David Newman - Executive Producer, Gary De Michele - Composer (Music Score), Jonathan McHugh - Musical Direction/Supervision, Ted Glass - Production Designer, Florian Ballhaus - Cinematographer, Campbell Scott - Producer, Alan Rudolph - Producer, George VanBuskirk - Producer, Alyssa Winter - Set Designer, William Sarokin - Sound/Sound Designer, Craig Lucas - Screenwriter, Marlena Grzaslewicz - Supervising Sound Editor, Ira Spliegel - Supervising Sound Editor, Jane Smiley - Short Story Author
David (Campbell Scott) and Dana Hurst (Hope Davis) are dentists who are married with three daughters and share a dental practice in Westchester County, New York. Dana is in the chorus of a community opera production, and when David goes backstage to give her a good luck charm, he sees her in the arms of another man. As he contemplates how to handle this, he begins having imaginary conversations with a difficult former patient (Denis Leary). When the whole family gets the flu, everything is brought to a head.
