An (im) possible case of hardship

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Movie
German title An (im) possible case of hardship
Original title Intolerable cruelty
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 2003
length 96 minutes
Age rating FSK 12
JMK 0
Rod
Director Ethan Coen
Joel Coen
script Robert Ramsey
Matthew Stone
Ethan Coen
Joel Coen
production Ethan Coen
Brian Grazer
Joel Coen
music Carter Burwell
camera Roger Deakins
cut Roderick Jaynes
occupation

An (in) possible hardship case (original title: Intolerable Cruelty ) is a comedy film from 2003 by Ethan and Joel Coen with George Clooney and Catherine Zeta-Jones in the leading roles.

action

Miles Massey is a respected divorce attorney and author of the "Massey Marriage Contract," which guarantees the financially inviolable spouse in the event of divorce. Despite professional success, he is in a midlife crisis .

When TV producer Donovan Donaly caught his wife Bonnie committing adultery, Miles successfully represented her. Miles later represents the wealthy Rex Rexroth. This was convicted by video recordings of the private detective Gus Petch commissioned by his wife Marilyn of adultery. Miles finds a witness who testifies that Marilyn didn't get married out of love but sought a rich but stupid husband. The betrayed wife gets nothing.

It becomes clear that Marilyn is calculating to follow the example of her friends who have become “financially independent” through quick divorces. Miles is still fascinated by her and falls in love with her. One day she shows up at his law office to sign the Massey marriage contract with her fiancé Howard Doyle, an apparently very wealthy Texan oil entrepreneur. Miles cannot believe that Marilyn will voluntarily waive her claims from this marriage. He concludes that he must have misjudged Marilyn.

At the wedding reception, Miles witnesses Marilyn's husband tearing up the marriage contract in front of the guests to show his love. Miles wonders how Marilyn got her husband to do this. Since he suspects that the marriage will not last much longer, he offers Marilyn his services. She refuses on the grounds that this simple case can even be dealt with by her lawyer Freddy Bender, who represented her in the last divorce and lost to Miles in court.

Six months later, Miles travels to the National Organization of Divorce Lawyers (NOMAN) in Las Vegas to deliver a speech. There he meets Marilyn, who is now considered very wealthy due to the successful divorce from Howard Doyle. Miles reveals to her that he is in love with her. Both want to get married that same evening in one of the wedding chapels in Las Vegas. Miles offers Marilyn to sign the Massey marriage contract with her in order not to benefit from her fortune through the marriage. After the wedding, she tears up the contract in order to show her trust.

In the exhilaration of his love, Miles deviates from his planned manuscript the next morning and extols the virtues of trust and love in front of the astonished divorce lawyers. A short time later, he recognized the oil entrepreneur known to him as Howard Doyle in an actor in a television series. His wife has duped him through the engagement of a soap actor and is in truth still dispossessed. Since Marilyn has torn up the marriage contract with him, she will benefit from his property if the marriage is dissolved. The next day she immediately asked for a divorce.

The head of Miles' law firm, the 87-year-old terminally ill Myerson, urges Miles to do whatever it takes to prevent damage from the firm. Miles hires a hit man to kill the panting Joe, Marilyn, so that the media divorce does not go through.

Marilyn's first husband Rex Rexroth dies surprisingly. Since he has not changed his will, Marilyn inherits all of his fortune. She is therefore richer than Miles. He tries desperately to stop the killer. In the meantime, however, Marilyn has caught the killer and bid him double if he kills Miles in return. When Miles and a colleague break in at Marilyn's, they meet the panting Joe and blind him with dog repellent spray . Gasping Joe confuses his asthma inhaler for his pistol and shoots himself.

Marilyn and Miles meet with divorce lawyer Freddy Bender. Miles wants a reconciliation, signs another marriage contract as a token of trust and hands it over to her. She tears it up, whereupon both recognize their love for each other and end their separation.

background

  • Ethan and Joel Coen directed the film, wrote the script, and helped produce the film. They were also responsible for the editing, but for which they are mentioned under their pseudonym Roderick Jaynes .
  • Filming took place from July to September 2002 in various locations in California and Las Vegas .
  • The film music mainly consists of covers of well-known songs by Simon & Garfunkel .
  • Production costs were estimated at around $ 60 million. The film grossed around 120 million US dollars in cinemas worldwide, including around 35 million US dollars in the USA and around 8.7 million US dollars in Germany. Around 1.2 million visitors were counted in German cinemas.
  • The cinema release in the USA was on October 10, 2003, in Germany on October 23.

Reviews

James Berardinelli wrote on ReelViews that the critics had paid less attention to the previous comedies of the Coen brothers than to the more serious films. He described the comedy as "intelligent" and "funny". Berardinelli praised the cast and script.

Roger Ebert praised Catherine Zeta-Jones' broadcast in the Chicago Sun-Times on October 10, 2003; he compared the actress to Ava Gardner and Deborah Kerr . He also praised the "perfect" portrayals of Catherine Zeta-Jones and George Clooney, but criticized the script.

The lexicon of international films said: “A romantic comedy knitted according to the usual pattern based on classic models, carefully and entertainingly staged. The film stands out from comparable productions above all for its satirical and biting jokes in detail and for its tendency to take the genre of upper-class comedy to the extreme by exaggerating. "

Awards

The German Film and Media Assessment FBW in Wiesbaden awarded the film the rating “particularly valuable”.

Ethan and Joel Coen were nominated for a 2004 Empire Award for Best Director .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Release certificate for an (im) possible hardship case . Voluntary self-regulation of the film industry , October 2003 (PDF; test number: 95 524 K).
  2. ↑ Age rating for an (im) possible hardship case . Youth Media Commission .
  3. ↑ http://www.imdb.de/title/tt0138524/locations
  4. ↑ http://www.imdb.de/title/tt0138524/business
  5. ↑ http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=intolerablecruelty.htm
  6. ↑ http://www.imdb.de/title/tt0138524/releaseinfo
  7. ↑ Film review by James Berardinelli
  8. ^ Film review by Roger Ebert
  9. ↑ An (im) possible hardship case. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used 
  10. ↑ An ( im ) possible hardship case on fbw-filmbassy.com

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