In 1949, successful middle-aged businessman Harry Allen (Chris Cooper) is having an affair with considerably younger war widow Kay Nesbitt (Rachel McAdams).

Feeling rejuvenated by his emotional reawakening, he confides in his best friend Richard Langley (Pierce Brosnan) and encourages him to visit his mistress to alleviate her loneliness.

Richard discovers Harry's wife Pat (Patricia Clarkson), oblivious to her husband's ongoing tryst, is engaged in an affair of her own with John O'Brien (David Wenham).

The website's critical consensus reads, "Married Life has excellent performances and flashes of dark wit, but it suffers from tonal shifts and uneven pacing.

[5] Stephen Holden of The New York Times called the film "a period comedy of manners merged with a suspenseful psychological thriller [that] aspires to be a hybrid of the sort that Alfred Hitchcock polished to perfection in the age of sexual subtext and subterfuge" but added it "does not provide the shivery security of being manipulated by Hitchcock, a master trickster who calculated his every move.

"[6] Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle observed the film "has the virtues of suspense, good performances and well-written scenes that are given time to breathe.

Partly as a result of the period setting but mainly because of the movie's entire atmosphere... there's a quality of distance to the picture, as though we're seeing a case study.

"[7] Todd McCarthy of Variety commented, "The tone, casting, and material form a less-than-perfect match in Married Life, a period domestic drama that never quite decides if it wants to be a credible marital study, a noirish meller or a sly comedy.

The talented quartet of lead players feels oddly paired in this curious tale of jealousy, betrayal, and murderous intent.

Harry and Pat are returning home from their grandson's wedding when he is distracted by a billboard advertising the digestive aid he had laced with poison to murder his wife.