4. When A Man Loves A Woman
Alice is a high school counsellor and her husband Michael is an airline pilot. She has a child from a previous relationship and a child with Michael. Although she is inherently a good person, alcohol makes Alice do stupid things. One day she comes in drunk, slaps one of her kids and falls through the glass pane of the shower. Her husband is alerted and when she is in the hospital, Michael insists Alice goes to rehab. Michael takes over the household duties and Alice flourishes in rehab. In her new sober role, Alice is less dependent on Michael and she is stronger and more assertive. The rest of the film deals with the rebalancing of Michael's and Alice's relationship. The ending is upbeat and positive. Andy Garcia and Meg Ryan grapple with some pretty intense emotions and actions in this film which is a lot better than I expected it to be. It avoids the facile approach to alcoholism - I am sober therefore everything is happy and okay in favour of dissecting relationship dynamics between the two leads in a more honest and affecting way. It is also refreshing to see Meg Ryan as not just some goodie goodie sweetheart who farts candyfloss - but in a meatier role where she slaps her kids around, drinks in work, tells the neighbours to "f**k off" and hoards prescription medication! Andy Garcia is excellent in his role as the put upon husband - his performance is very nuanced and complex. A thoughtful film about co-dependency.