Jack Linden (Mark Ruffalo) and Hank Evans (Peter Krause) are best friends who both teach at the same university in a small New England town. They both are married and have young children, and Jack's wife, Terry (Laura Dern), is close with Hank's wife, Edith (Naomi Watts). But while things appear happy on the surface, there are smoldering pockets of discontent underneath. Financial struggle and domestic boredom has drained the passion from Jack and Terry's marriage, while Hank's numerous infidelities and self-absorption has prompted Edith to find both comfort and sexual fulfillment with Jack. As Jack begins spending more and more time with Edith, it becomes obvious to Terry, whose anger culminates in a sexual encounter with Hank. Now that the deception has come full circle, both couples are left to decide the futures of their shattered unions.

With a screenplay that incorporates "We Don't Live Here Anymore" and "Adultery," two short stories by Andre Dubus (IN THE BEDROOM), John Curran's film appears deceptively simple. While it's a garden-variety tale of suburban ennui and infidelity on the surface, it is brought to multi-layered life with a quartet of elegantly nuanced performances that fit together like the interlocking pieces of a puzzle. Plot is almost secondary to the emotional sparks that Ruffalo, Dern, Krause, and Watts give off, expertly and in equal measure.

IN THEATRES: AUGUST 13, 2004 (NY/LA)

DVD Features:

Keep Case - Amaray
Letterboxed - 2.40
Single Side - Dual Layer
Audio:
Dolby Surround 5.1 English, French/Quebecois
Subtitles - English - Closed Captioned
Subtitles - French, Spanish - Optional
Additional Release Material:
Trailers - Original Theatrical Trailer

Distributor Notes: Jack and Terry. Hank and Edith. They're married couples and best friends with much in common. Jack and Hank are professors at Cedar County College. Terry and Edith are stay-at-home moms. And Jack and Edith are secret lovers.

Mark Ruffalo, Laura Dern, Peter Krause and Naomi Watts play the interlocked foursome, pushing their characters into uncharted realms of anger, confrontation and lust - and making decisions that may or may not let love slip away.

Source: Warner Home Video

Mark Ruffalo: Actor
Naomi Watts: Actress, KING KONG (2005)
Peter Krause: Actor, SIX FEET UNDER (2001, HBO)
Laura Dern: American Actress; RAMBLING ROSE

John Curran: Australian Director

Harvey Kahn: Director: HUSH/THE DEAL
Jonas Goodman: Producer, WE DON'T LIVE HERE ANYMORE (2004)
Naomi Watts: Actress, KING KONG (2005)

Larry Gross: Screenwriter

Michael Convertino: 

"[T]he film is at times harrowing to watch, yet it's also wry and delicate and absorbing. It's infused with the messy excitement of imperfect passion."
"[Dern] brings startling anger and anguish to her portrayal of a wronged wife."
"[L]iterate, erotic, brutally funny and touched by brilliance in its quartet of live-wire performances....Don't discount this film's power -- it doesn't sizzle, it stings."
"[T]horoughly intelligent..."
"[A]ffecting and sincere in the best sense..."
"A revelation."
"Easily the best American movie so far this year"
"Good acting distinguishes this supple drama..."
"[T]his maintains its temperature to the final knock-out blows, shattering sureties. A fearless, uncommonly truthful film."