Wreckers is a strangely unsatisfying movie. A young married couple, who are in the midst of repairing a dilapidated house,
begin experiencing problems after the arrival of the husband's brother.
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The past encroaches upon their happy world, leaving Dawn to realize she doesn't know her husband at all. But if David (Benedict Cumberbatch) is dishonest with his wife, so is Dawn. The wife(Claire Foy) is unfaithful to David with a man who, like everyone else, is not what he seems.
Wreckers is an intriguing but somewhat flawed film. The movie ends but conflicts are not resolved, just avoided. David refuses to asks about the paternity of the child his wife bears. He hints, though, that he suspects something.
The conflict between the two brothers isn't resolved either. Nick goes AWOL. David finally admits that there is something wrong psychologically with Nick but the he two brothers never reconcile.
We're given a semi-happy ending; David and Dawn are together sans Nick with a new baby, but it feels like a shortcut.
Performances by the actors are superb and the film is beautifully shot. The screenplay itself, however, is not fully realized.
Hamlet. Frankenstein. Moby Dick. These are all classic revenge stories that end in tragedy. Where do we look for a contemporary twist on the revenge tale? For starters, there's Liane Moriarty's The Husband's Secret.
In her novel, revenge is like a snake hidden in a beautiful garden. Underneath the novel's frothy, humorous exterior are terrible secrets waiting to be unearthed.
We see the world through the eyes of three women--Tess, Cecilia, and Rachel. Tess an advertising account executive hides her
secret--social anxiety--fairly well. She has even fooled herself. Her witty but fat cousin, Felicity, helps her with any and all insecurities until --oops-- she wants what belongs exclusively to Tess.
Cecilia is a Tupperware queen who practically runs the Catholic school her children attend. She is the envied, perfectly-organized Mom until she finds a letter that unhinges her well-ordered life. The letter to be opened, it says, upon her husband's death, reveals a terrible secret that will shatter the lives of the three women.
The shattered rose on the cover is a fitting image.
Rachel who dislikes her daughter-in-law is probably the character who suffers most in the novel. In one terrible moment, Rachel seeks vengeance upon the man whom she believes has murdered her daughter. Tragedy ensues yet truth--the secret and its repercussions--is finally revealed.
Complicated, yet entertaining, funny and thrilling, The Husband's Secret will delight all kinds of readers.
"Fairy tales are true, not because they tell us dragons exist, but because they tell us dragons can be beaten."
G.K. Chesterton
