I think the movie was a bit too deep for the particular viewer, and left a lot for self-evaluation. Not to mention, it was slow.
Bob was just as neglected as Charlotte. Bob’s wife was more concerned about decorating the house and being involved with the kids than she was about him or his feelings or his emotions. Charlotte’s husband was always working, never around, more concerned about his career, leaving her alone. Bill, being married for 25 years, Charlotte just married a mere 2 years, made a comment to Charlotte in the bar about he wanted to make sure if he fell somebody would notice then said he was looking for an accomplish in a “prison escape” meaning that to escape would take courage, to escape from the bar, from the hotel, from the city and out to the country, and she says sure I’ll go pack. The movie should have started from there but it just never did, unless it was trying to show that everyday life is hum drum, that Bob struggles with regret, that Charlotte is perceptive and observant not sure, but Bob and Charlotte develop a bound and closeness in the time they spend together.
This is where I think the movie leaves the viewer to do some self-evaluation.
If he acted on the feelings he had toward Charlotte would it have ended there? Would he have wanted it to? Could this closeness survive the test of time out in the real world? He wasn’t happy in his marriage, she wasn’t either, but he mentioned that he had children and life was more complicated and from his conversation in the hotel room, he said that his children were the most important thing is his life. I think he directed his built up sexual tension he had towards Charlotte with the lounge singer, because he had no emotional ties to the lounge singer therefore merely satisfying his sexual needs.