Plot Details: This opinion reveals major details about the movie's plot.

Within the first five minutes of Normal Life we know two things. We know that this story is "inspired by actual events" and we know that Chris and Pam (played by Luke Perry and Ashley Judd) are going to end up in a heap of trouble. Because they are completely surrounded by FBI agents, and we hear shots ring out. We're then transported back two years to the beginning - to the time when Chris Anderson's life is forever changed.

Because two years ago, Chris met Pam in a bar. Pam is beautiful (Ashley Judd makes a gorgeous blond), and Chris is immediately drawn to her. Even though he sees that she's somewhat "different", he loves her and he marries her. Despite the fact that she's sometimes angry, ambivalent towards sex, sometimes crazy, addicted to pills and alcohol, and has a tendency to mutilate herself and threaten to kill herself whenever she gets upset. Because of her "tendencies" she can't hold a job, although she loves spending money. She also quickly becomes disinterested in Chris and his family, showing up to her father-in-law's funeral on a pair of roller skates. She's a total nut job, but Chris loves her, and is determined to do anything he can, to keep her happy.

The money issues just keep getting worse and then Chris loses his job as a policeman. Desperate to hold onto his wife, Chris turns to robbing banks for a supplemental income. Having been a policeman for all these years, Chris is wise to their ways, and is quite successful as a bank robber. Now that they have plenty of money, Pam seems pretty happy at home. And when she finds out what Chris has been up to, she's even happier, and wants in on the action.

But from the very first scene with the FBI agents surrounding them, we know this happy life is not going to last for long.

Good and Bad

I was completely enthralled by this story. I was definitely intrigued, and interested to see how it all played out.

I can't really say that the characters are likable. But the actors are so good in their roles that the characters manage to endear themselves to us, to some extent. Ashley Judd is absolutely terrific playing Pam. She shows us a woman who has so many flaws, yet is completely self-aware, and never tries to pretend she's anything other than what she is. She doesn't hide her problems, nor does she apologize for them. She is who she is, with no excuses. I would have liked to better understand her. But we're never shown anything that explains how she came to be this way. I would have liked it, if they flashed back to her childhood, or showed us her family situation growing up, anything to help explain how a woman ends up with so many problems.

Luke Perry does a good job with Chris, but his character is even harder to explain than Pam's character. Pam's character, we simply assume, has some explanation, even though we're never told what it is. Chris, however, grew up in a loving family. His parents and his brother are all nearby providing lots of feel-good family moments. So we can understand why Chris is a straight-laced policeman doing good in the world. We can even understand why he might try to reach out to a woman like Pam, and try his hardest to help her (though that determination might be considered mis-guided). But what we can't understand is how this nice, honest man switches over to a life of crime. I totally understand the desire to please your wife, and the "I'd do anything to make you happy" mentality. Except when "anything" includes completely reversing your morality. A policeman deciding to become a bank robber...? It just doesn't ring true to me. I wish the movie could have made it somehow clearer what, exactly, pushed Chris over that edge.

Overall, I enjoyed this movie, even if I couldn't explain the characters. Rated R for violence, sexuality, drug use, and language this is certainly not one for the kiddies. But adults who enjoy a serious movie about messed up people and the extremes to which others might go to help them, will enjoy this movie.


Recommended: Yes

Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age