I actually finished the movie, but I was disgusted by the story, how can she do that?

I suppose the title is a spoiler in itself... but I really did like the film a lot until the ending which I felt was a copout. The film was well acted; I felt the pain of the character played by Arterton throughout. It's the housewife/mother's dilemma we feminists identified decades ago: many or even most women won't be satisifed "just" keeping house, raising their children and keeping their man happy. No, a woman needs meaningful activity in her life in which her thoughts and creativity can be used. This is what Arterton's character was missing and seeking. It was interesting if not obvious the way the older French woman who "rescues" her at the end tells her to "try to make your life work with your husband and if that doesn't work, make it work without him." Well, yes, and early on in the film the husband does give the wife this opportunity. When she was just discovering how sad and unfulfilled she was, he, apparently sincerely, tells her, "Just tell me what you want. I'll do anything for you." If only she knew enough at that point she could have said, well here's a list of what I want and need." But as in real life, things aren't usually that tidy or easy. So she had to go through running away and meeting a cad of a man in order to realize that she already had enough good in her life to work with. I would have loved the movie even more if the ending had been more definitive. Instead, it does a kind of "We've come full circle" thing in which we're left to surmise what the main character does next.

I related to this woman's role, as I lived it, but unlike the character in the film, I, and most other women, don't have the financial freedom to make such a choice. What we see in the film is pretty much a typical marriage with small children. The wife is unhappy and unfulfilled. The husband is pretty much oblivious to her emotional needs, while expecting sex on demand. The other aspect of this story is the abandonment of one's children. One could also argue that paired with that impossible decision is the fact that she has a comfortable home, a faithful husband who is a good provider. Many women stay just for the security. One could surmise the woman is just being selfish, not willing to make the marriage work. One could also argue she is very brave, but are the sacrifices worth it? The film doesn't make this clear in the end.

I have never watched anything this well directed for this type of context. Yes its about the 'typical' problems inherent in marriage but that's a very small part of it. For me, this film isn't just about that, it's more about, without generalising, how the character, the woman, the mother, the stay at home housewife, the dedicated family being, had to find herself again. What stands out throughout the film was that she was very much aware that she had lost something, that something wasn't right. You could see that from the very beginning. And what it comes down to is: Is it time to leave? (As opposed to: can I leave?) What I believe should be the focus of principle here is that while there are various externalities that result in the making of a being as it is, marriage and it's societal demands of its participants have remain unchanged for a while. And In this film, Gemma was indeed tired of being the unappreciated housewife and sex doll of sorts. That's not a pleasant experience for anyone, I can imagine.And so I rated this film a 10/10. The close ups are too real...nothing felt like acting to me while watching the film. It's real. It's real for someone.