The Upside of Anger (DVD, 2005)

This is such a well written and beautifully acted movie. Mike Binder who wrote and directed, is best known for the dreadful "Mind of the Married Man." In this one he pulls off a bases loaded home run.

He wrote the lead role of Terry Wolfmeyer for Joan Allen and it shows. She puts the character on and it fits like a glove. We learn that Terry's husband and father of her four girls, has up and left her, possibly with his Swedish secretary. Her youngest daughter, Popeye (I'm hoping it's a nickname, it was never explained), tells us that Terry was the sweetest person imaginable until this happened, and then she got angry, good and angry.

And that's how the story begins, Terry reeling in shock and anger. She is drinking too much and barely functional. Neighbor Denny (Kevin Costner) comes over to discuss a business deal with her husband and discovers he's gone for good. He invites himself in and they become drinking buddies.

Kevin Costner seems to be a natural to play atheletes. Here he is a retired baseball player who makes a living doing promotions and signing baseballs (he charges for them). He is also the host of a local radio show which in a fit of contradictoriness he refuses to discuss baseball. And he drinks, a lot. Costner can pull off loopy, casual charm like no one else and his portrayal of Denny is both complex and lovable.

Terry is very angry and Joan Allen does it to perfection. She can fix the object of her ire with a look of stony fury that is hilarious and scary. Her reaction when she finds one of her daughters in a relationship with a man she despises is priceless. She drifts into a relationship with Denny that leaves him often on the pointy end of her emotional ups and downs. He's pretty understanding, but it also has it's limits. Terry is just so mad she can't seem to find a way around it.

She also damages the relationship with her girls. They are hurting from their father's defection and dealing with this touchy, sarcastic, unpredictable new mother is hard. They try to understand, but feel torn and a little guilty because they aren't as angry at him as she is.

It could have been a movie that strictly deals with Terry's arc in this situation, but it isn't. While the initial story is good on its own, it turns around and takes on another level. It has a wonderful conclusion that makes it richer, deeper, and much more meaningful. You look more carefully at the sources of your own anger and realize what a waste it is.

What isn't a waste is getting this DVD. You'll watch it more than once and talk to your friends and family about it.