The movie is based on a play, that is to say it's basically a lay in film form. Like so many plays, and play based movies, it revolves around couples and relationships and I'm getting somewhat tired of the recurring theme. It seems most of these moves are pretty much the same, sure they have different situations and settings, but the basic dialogs are the same, and that's exactly the case here. The movie/play juxtaposes 2 couples at different time in their life and deals with issues such as the frustration of long term relationships, finance, life choices, urban living vs. the country.....ordinary stuff which you've no doubt come across before and that isn't taken to new heights here. Some of the scenes are laughably over the top and that just really pulls you out of the moment and makes you doubt the credibility of the story and the characters. Apart from that the acting and directing was great, David Harbour was especially good although Melissa George was bland through most of it, bad casting perhaps. In short, watch this if you like quasi intellectual relationship plays.

In what might be the best first line of a movie, Julia Stiles opens her door and lets a multitude of expressions pass over her face. "I gotta say, it's a little strange having you two show up at our doorstep like this."

We then see the unfolding of two disastrous dinner parties between two couples, Taye Diggs and Julia Stiles, and David Harbour and Melissa George. The film intercuts between the first party hosted at one house two years earlier and an impromptu get-together at the other couple's apartment during the present time. Intense, wordy, real, and extremely well-acted, it's easy to imagine Joe Hortua's words written for and performed on the stage. I wasn't expecting to enjoy this movie nearly as much as I did. Sometimes I find movies that are very "play-ish" to be unrealistic and superior. Between Us was so real, I felt as if I should apologize for eavesdropping. The four actors bare their souls to the camera, admit secrets, and cry at their lost youths and crumbling marriages. It's a very common theme now (even though this movie is nearly ten years old) to focus on 30-somethings who regret having children and settling down. There are people who don't like that theme, for whatever reason, and those viewers should absolutely stay away. Anyone who does like that subgenre, I highly recommend this heavy drama. It's exposing and uncomfortable, personal yet vague, and intimate even though it's a feature film that (ideally) would be shown to millions.

I read the reviews for Between US before I watched the movie. The reviews were the extremes. All good or all bad. Well I lean to the all bad end of the scale.

There was a severe lack of material for this movie so the director tried to stretch 10 minutes of real material to fill a 90 minute movie.

There is a blowout argument between people who were friends\coexistors from college where they air things they think about each other. The depth of the conversations was amazing considering they were not life long friends. They were just college friends\coexistors. But they get really personal with their attacks on each other.

I also had a hard time believing the couples were really couples. The couples savage each other as well. What?

The distracting back and forth changes in time were very confusing. They show our characters sad then happy then sad again without showing us why we needed to know that? OK. Things were bad at one time then good at others in their lives. We all know that.

This movie is a 100% pass.