Despite the title, SundanceTV’s State of the Union (one of AMC Networks’ channels) has nothing to do with politics – it’s about marriage. However, this show is worth watching for everyone who loves good series with an emphasis on dialogues.

State of the Union is a very unusual series. In ten ten-minute episodes, which can be seen as not the longest movie, in one sitting, almost nothing happens. Just two people talking on various topics, trying to understand if there is anything else connecting them and if there is even a small chance to save their marriage.

Louise and Tom are very different. She is a gerontologist, serious, sensual, very beautiful. He is a former music critic, now unemployed, somewhat awkward and impractical. They have been married for 15 years, they have two children, both of them are not at all old, full of strength people, only now their family life has broken down. Every week, before going to a family counselor, they meet in a pub across the street from the doctor’s office and try to discuss what they will talk about at the consultation. And it seems that these short conversations help them understand each other more than visits to a specialist.

State of the Union is a chamber, exclusively dialogue series. There is no action here, most of the series Tom and Louise just sit at the table, drink beer and wine and talk. Then they get up and, crossing the street, go to the psychologist. The same sets, almost the same costumes, everything is based on the actors and the text – this series is very easy to adapt for the stage.

As usual, in films with an emphasis on dialogue, watch State of the Union in the original language. Firstly, because of the wonderful voices of the leading actors, and secondly, because of the multi-layeredness of some passages. Sex, adultery, crosswords, music, unemployment, events in Syria, Brexit, fear of loneliness, sex again. The characters talk about anything, but gradually come closer to understanding what happened between them.

State of the Union starring Rosamund Pike (Pride & Prejudice, Gone Girl and the recent A Private War ) and Chris O’Dowd (The IT Crowd, Loving Vincent , Molly’s Game ) – the authors seem to have deliberately tried to create the craziest screen couple. Well, both Pike and O’Dowd are great actors with a lot of theater experience, which definitely came in handy when they worked on State of the Union. Despite the overall low-key tone of the series, despite the absence of any explosive scenes, the actors managed to perfectly show the development of the characters and their relationships from episode to episode. The best performers for these roles are not worth wishing for.

State of the Union is a complete story, to which, if desired, a continuation can be added. It seems to me that this is not worth doing. This is a pleasant series for one evening with good actors, great dialogues and a light, despite the seriousness of the topics discussed, atmosphere. It is strongly recommended to people who have been married for more than 5 years, however, of course, no one forbids others to watch it.