A look at Hollywoods best attempts to capture crumbling relationships

People from around the world differ from each other in terms of their personalities likes dislikes and so on But if there is one thing that binds them no matter where they hail from it is that social institution called marriage As a norm weddings are celebrated throughout the world but the issues that come with living with someone under the same room for decades are always conveniently swept under the carpetHowever several Hollywood movies have attempted to show marriages in all its starkness One such film is David Fincherrsquos latest release Gone Girl above as it explores the marital issues that a seemingly happy couple can go through hitlist looks back at other movies which dealt with similar themesRevolutionary Road 2008Director Sam MendesLowdownMarking Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winsletrsquos reunion as actors after Titanic this film explored the marital issues of a couple stifled by the mundanity of suburban life Besides having to deal with the breakdown of their marriage filmed quite poignantly they also have to deal with the loss of their unborn childUnfaithful 2002Director Adrian LyneLowdownThe life of a seemingly perfect family begins to unravel as the wife falls for the overpowering charisma of an absolute stranger His sexual prowess quite literally drags her away from good sense as well as her family In such a helpless scenario what her husband does to settle scores is what makes this story compelling as well as inhumaneThe Hours 2002Director Stephen DaldryLowdownIn this womancentric period drama the female characters Meryl Streep Julianne Moore and Nicole Kidman who plays famous author Virginia Woolf deal with their lessthanperfect marriages Death to them seems the only way out of their deeply unhappy lives While one meets with a tragic end the other escapesFar from Heaven 2002Director Todd HaynesLowdownSet in the 1950s an American woman appears to be leading an idyllic existence oblivious of the societal turmoil thatrsquos engulfing her country This is long before she bravely begins to confront one marital crisis after another mdash one of them being her husbandrsquos repressed homosexualityThe Constant Gardener 2005Director Fernando MeirellesLowdownA diplomat is in a strange fix as hersquos not only mourning his wifersquos departure but also suspecting that she might have been having an affair behind his back in Africa In order to know he lets himself sink into the big bad world of pharmaceutical excesses thus acknowledging his wifersquos innocence and his own asburdityBrokeback Mountain 2005Director Ang Lee LowdownThis film is as much about extramarital affairs of the two lead characters as it is about addressing homosexuality sensitively In their quest to experience true love the lead actors played by Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal betray their beloveds by pretending to be something that they are notThe Last King of Scotland 2006Director Kevin MacdonaldLowdownA Scottish doctor travels to Uganda and fatefully becomes Idi Aminrsquos physician Soon hersquos the dictatorrsquos advisor on matters that donrsquot even concern his field of expertise However his downfall is eminent After all he had the temerity of not only falling in love with one of Aminrsquos many wives but also bedding herThe Painted Veil 2006Director John CurranLowdownNaomi Watts plays a bored Victorian wife who cheats on Edward Norton her scientist husband while on a honeymoon in Shanghai But whatrsquos more intriguing is the cuckolded husbandrsquos refusal to confront her despite knowing whatrsquos going on His reason for doing so he loves her way too much to judge her characterA Royal Affair 2012Director Nikolaj ArcelLowdownWhat begins as a mutual attraction between a queen and her physician changes the course of Scandinavian history Starring Mads Mikkelsen and Alicia Vikander as the couple in love the film also shows how even the strongest of love stories canrsquot stand the trial of politics and prejudiceIn the Mood for Love 2000Director Wong KarWaiLowdownA man and woman mdash who are married but not to each other mdash develop a beautiful bond after learning about their respective spousersquos extramarital affairs The only thing that separates them from their socalled better halves is that they are insistent on not committing the same mistakes their spouses so comfortably didLast Night 2010Director Massy TadjedinLowdown One of the finest films made on marital infidelity in the recent past it features Sam Worthington Keira Knightley and Eva Mendes among others While the husband is trying hard to overcome temptation on a business trip his wife back home is facing the returning prospects of the lost love from her pastSide Effects 2013Director Steven SoderberghLowdown Much before Rosamund Pikersquos psychotic character made an appearance in Gone Girl Rooney Mara played what is arguably one of the most deceptive roles in a thriller Her character would trick anyone mdash from her husband to her psychiatrist to a pharmaceutical giant mdash to accomplish what she set out to achieveLust Caution 2007Director Ang Lee Lowdown As has been the case with Leersquos films so far sex or marital discrepancies serve a much bigger purpose than whatrsquos evident This aptlytitled masterpiece is no different Through the actions of the protagonists Lee tells a tale filled with spies and covert government operationsBrothers 2009Director Jim SheridanLowdown A soldier goes to a war and doesnrsquot come back His family presumes hersquos dead Meanwhile his younger brother takes care of his wife and children ensuring appropriate distance is maintained However the soldier returns home and doubts his wifersquos infidelity and his brotherrsquos sexcapades