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When the father of four girls disappears, his wife Terry thinks he has fled to Sweden with his Swedish secretary. She has nightmares about her husband and the Swedish secretary having sex and starts drinking to forget her sorrow. Terry unexpectedly falls for her husband's best friend, Denny, who is also her drinking buddy. Her four daughters watch their mother's ups and downs and each deal with the situation in their own way.
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Rated:
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[ M ]
ADULT THEMES, SEXUAL REFERENCES, MEDIUM LEVEL COARSE LANGUAGE
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Cinema release:
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12 May 2005
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DVD release:
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5 Oct 2005
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Director:
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Mike Binder
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Running time:
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117 mins
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Stars:
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Kevin Costner, Joan Allen, Evan Rachel Wood, Alicia Witt, Erika Christensen
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Links:
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Official Site
IMDb
Rotten Tomatoes
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What we say
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Family feud
Joan Allen gives a performance worthy of an Oscar in "The Upside of Anger", a touching, poignant and at times very funny look at the aftermath of a marriage breakdown and the strength of familial bonds.
Terry Wolfmeyer's (Allen) world is crumbling around her. She's just discovered her husband has left her and her four daughters after having an affair with his Swedish secretary. Terry turns to the bottle for support and finds a friend in her equally troubled neighbour, Denny (Kevin Costner), a former baseball star turned radio DJ.
The pair develops a friendship, much to the surprise of Terry's daughters: budding journalist Andy (Erika Christensen), soon-to-be-married Hadley (Alicia Witt), ballet enthusiast Emily (Keri Russell) and conflicted teenager Popeye (Evan Rachel Wood).
"The Upside of Anger" explores the relationships between each of these characters and their own personal plights. Supporting characters, such as a sleazy radio producer (Mike Binder, who also directed the film) who begins a relationship with Andy, add much comic spice to proceedings.
Allen plays Terry as a neurotic alcoholic who fails to realise the pressure she is placing on her daughters' lives. Her explosions of emotion are hilarious and moving at the same time, while it's a credit to the actress that she remains a likeable and identifiable character throughout.
The performances from the entire cast are simply wonderful. It's great to see Costner back in form after a string of flops and the four young actresses hold their own alongside their two peers.
Binder wrote the screenplay and carefully avoids cheesy Hollywood sentiment. The film is heart-warming without going too far and draws humour from its honest approach to every-day situations.
"Upside" has a few twists up its sleeve to ensure that it never succumbs to predictability. The final, pivotal revelation affects character motivations and will force the audience to reassess everything that came before it.
Simply put, "The Upside of Anger" is an absolute delight and one of the year's best films.
The Upside of Anger
As the saying goes, "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned". That quote could have been written for a certain upper-crust woman played here with demonic anger by Joan Allen. You'll be furious with yourself if you miss this, one of the best performances of the year.
No-one does a withering glance like our Joan, but it's usually accompanied by a bruised soul that summons sympathy for her characters. And it is hard not to feel sorry for this socialite wife seemingly abandoned by her wanton husband for his secretary, but it's easy to understand why he might leave her in the first place as her alcoholic rages would strip the lining off your heart. The subjects of most of her venom, apart from her husband, are four daughters who are bringing themselves up amidst the tumult of their mother's epic disappointment.
Misery loves company and company arrives in the strange package of a bumbling burn-out baseball has-been who stumbles into her life and finds a strange soulmate, not to mention a damn good drinking partner. He moves in on her and her family with all the grace of a well-meaning bear and becomes their unexpected saviour.
This may be the first Oscar-worthy performance we've seen since the last gong show. It's always been easy to imagine Joan Allen being so awarded — and this might be the one. The bitterness with which she blights all those who know her is delicious to watch, mainly because you're not the subject of her stunning sarcasm. Kevin Costner has never been more loveable. And as implausible as their relationship is, it's damn near delightful to watch it unfold. Erika Christensen, Alicia Witt, Keri Russell and Evan Rachel Wood play the put-upon offspring — it's impossible to single out a standout performance among the brood. They are all that good.
The only downside to this film is the attempt to sweeten it with an unnecessary narration which seeks to explain what the movie itself does marvellously. A couple of cute moments, especially towards the end, don't help, but by then it doesn't matter.
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Find more info on The Upside of Anger with Bing Search
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What you say
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Add a review
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What you say
Waste of money
I was very disappointed with this movie and thought about walking out on several occasions but kept hanging in there to see if there was something that might redeem it... but, no. I found the characters one-sided and unrealistic. I felt no empathy with the extremely cold, critical and bitter Terry. The acting on the whole was terrible and the script pointless and unsatisfying. Don't waste your money.
Joy
Melbourne, VIC
3 Jul 2005
Realistic, down-to-earth romance
If you are a hyped up fan of blood, guts, bullets, car chases and banal American gutter language then avoid this movie like the plague. This ultra slow romance film grew on me as it went on thanks to the superb performances from the main six characters.
Joan Allen's role as a bitter and twisted, jilted wife and mother should be up for an Oscar come nomination time. At times when the movie seems to plodding in to mediocrity something happens to rope you back in again. There were a good few funny incidents to keep it light hearted and save one getting too down on the mother's miserable personality.
Thankfully the usual Hollywood bed romps were omitted from the movie, as were corny one-liners. It was great to see a realistic, down-to-earth movie focusing on family shenanigans and everyday situations without the usual Hollywood sensationalism.
Frank Davie
Long Jetty, NSW
5 Jun 2005
One of the better movies of 2005
I enjoyed this movie a lot; almost as much as "Crash" which we saw the week before! It makes up for all the rubbish you are subjected to for most of the rest of the year.
The acting was great and it was excellent to see Kevin Costner (whom I'll admit I'm still in love with after "The Bodyguard") in a movie that lets him show some acting talent for a change. Joan Allen was fantastic as a woman who jumps to conclusions too soon (and when haven't we all been guilty of that).
Becky
Brisbane, QLD
24 May 2005
Worthwhile experience
This is a worthwhile cinema experience. The audience is treated to several years in the company of two middle aged adults who find a reason to be happy with their initially tenuous relationship. The film is supported by four engaging, new-ish faces who play the daughters of the female lead. An honest and visually pleasing piece.
Michelle
Warner, QLD
23 May 2005
Don't waste your time
I found this movie to be long, drawn out and a waste of time. Yes, I did feel for the characters so I suppose it must have had some sort of impact,but I was so glad when the movie ended.
Jen
Townswville, QLD
18 May 2005
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