It's 1955. Frank and April Wheeler, in the seventh year of their marriage, have fallen into a life that appears to most as being perfect. They live in the Connecticut suburbs with two young children. Frank commutes to New York City where he works in an office job while April stays at home as a housewife. But they're not happy. April has forgone her dream of becoming an actress, and Frank hates his job - one where he places little effort - although he has never figured out what his passion in life is. One day, April suggests that they move to Paris - a city where Frank visited during the war and loved, but where April has never been - as a means to rejuvenate their life. April's plan: she would be the breadwinner, getting a lucrative secretarial job for one of the major international organizations, while Frank would have free time to find himself and whatever his passion. Initially skeptical, Frank ultimately agrees to April's plan. When circumstances change around the Wheelers, April decides she will do whatever she has to to get herself out of her unhappy existence.

This is the first film collaboration between Kate Winslet and husband Sam Mendes.

April Wheeler:
So now I'm crazy because I don't love you, right? Is that the point?


Frank Wheeler:
No! Wrong! You're not crazy, and you do love me. That's the point, April.


April Wheeler:
But I don't. I hate you. You were just some boy who made me laugh at a party once, and now I loathe the sight of you. In fact, if you come any closer, if you touch me or anything, I think I'll scream.


Frank Wheeler:
Frank: Oh, come on, stop this April.

[He touches her for an instant and she screams at the top of her lungs before walking away. He chases after her]


Frank Wheeler:
Fuck you, April! Fuck you and all your hateful, goddamn -

[He breaks a chair against a wall]


April Wheeler:
What are you going to do now? Are you going to hit me? To show me how much you love me?


Frank Wheeler:
Don't worry, I can't be bothered! You're not worth the trouble it would take to hit you! You're not worth the powder it would take to blow you up. You are an empty, empty, hollow shell of a woman. I mean, what the hell are you doing in my house if you hate me so much? Why the hell are you married to me? What the hell are you doing carrying my child? I mean, why didn't you just get rid of it when you had the chance? Because listen to me, listen to me, I got news for you - I wish to God that you had!

Anachronisms: When April explains that she can't pick up her children until that evening, the telephone handset has a modular phone jack, which was invented in the 1970s.

Written by Mildred J. Hill (as Mildred Hill) and Patty S. Hill (as Patty Hill)