Watch Open Marriage

Open Marriage is a 2017 indie movie directed by Sam Irvin starring Tilky Jones, Nikki Leigh, and Kelly Dowdle. The film explores the idea of an open relationship with a marriage at its base. The film revolves around a couple J.T. (Tilky Jones) and Carla (Nikki Leigh) who are in a rut in their marriage after five years of their union. They had recently moved into a new home and had not been intimate for quite some time. They were in desperate need to reignite their spark. Carla suggests the idea of having an open marriage to help them mutually realize sexual fantasies without actually cheating on each other.

Initially, J.T. agrees to a reluctance, which slowly changes into excitement about the idea. But Pandora box is about to be opened when the real challenges of an open marriage arise. Both the partners start exploring and finding other sexual partners outside the marriage. While the move appears smooth and rational initially, their relationship starts experiencing problems when Carla starts getting more involved with her new lover, while J.T struggles to make the open marriage work.

Both start losing trust in each other, making things worse between them, and putting their relationship in turmoil. Things spiral out of control when J.T. discovers a secret that his wife has been keeping from him. To make things worse, someone else knows about the secret, and before he knows it, their life is thrown into unexpected chaos. The movie promises to take viewers through the volatile journey of the highs and lows of an open relationship.

The plot of Open Marriage throws light onto the complications and challenges that an open relationship can bring into a marriage. The movie provides insights into how individuals can get into situations where the sexual release that comes through other partners can lead to deeper emotional connections, distrust, and insecurities. The film explores how this affects the marriage and the people involved, according to the filmmakers. The filmmakers made every effort to represent every aspect, ranging from happiness and excitement to turbulence and disorientation.

The main cast delivers an engaging performance that brings life to the story of the movie. The acting of Tilky Jones, Nikki Leigh, and Kelly Dowdle is natural, and the dialogues and emotions are delivered convincingly. The exploration of the characters ably portrayed the gamut of human emotions like love, jealousy, insecurity, betrayal, and greed. Besides the central cast, there are some supporting characters whose performances have also added to the movie's impetus.

The movie is shot beautifully, and the cinematography by Peter Mervis is brilliant. The sets bring authenticity and genuine emotion to the story. The audience can feel themselves transported into the characters’ world, thanks to its perfect combination of emotional depth, quality camera work, and an excellent musical score.

Open Marriage, while not being perfect filmmaking, it is still worth a watch. Partly because it addresses a highly sensitive topic, something that is still taboo, and despite some shortcomings, the movie genuinely delivers powerful performances and adept portrayals of various human emotions. The storyline is compelling and adds to the overall cinematic experience. Those who have been in open relationships or have thought about exploring it would undoubtedly find the movie insightful, while on the other hand, some may find the idea of an open marriage uncomfortable or offensive.

The movie, which had a limited release, has received mixed reviews from the audiences and the critics. Although, some reviewers have praised the film’s approach to the controversial concept of open marriage. Notwithstanding, Open Marriage has managed to create a reputation of an indie movie that provides a gripping and complex story arch that keeps the audiences on the edge of their seats.

In conclusion, Open Marriage is a movie that might challenge your beliefs about relationships and marriages. Those who like to explore gray areas of human relationships could benefit from watching the movie. The movie is unlikely to sweep you off your feet but succeeds in delivering a story that is engaging, insightful, and well worth watching.

Open Marriage is a 2018 thriller with a runtime of 1 hour and 26 minutes. It has received mostly poor reviews from critics and viewers, who have given it an IMDb score of 5.0.