Review of Vacation from Marriage

The first two thirds of this movie are perfect! The remaking of Robert and Catherine is depicted in the subtle way I wanted it done. And the mirroring of their war experiences worked very well. At the same points in the movie they were made over, they were heroes, they were attracted to other people. It was utterly predictable, but surprise wasn't the point. The point was to tease out their reunion into a deliciously excruciating wait, and that worked. I was right there for it the whole time—and then they botched the ending. Instead of taking pains with the nuances of the couple's becoming interested in each other again—which could have been achingly romantic—we get a short cut: a dumb marital squabble that is out of character with their new war-forged maturity. Ah well. It was really close.