Summary:
A writer wins the Nobel prize, but in doing so it threatens to rip apart his family and expose embarrassing truths about himself and his family.
My Thoughts:
I would recommend that you watch the film before reading this review, as it’s difficult to even begin discussing it without letting on to what the film is really about.
So here we have a film, blandly entitled “The Wife”. You might look at this name, this poster, or this DVD cover, and think to yourself, “What is there to look forward to in a movie with such a straightforward and unimaginative name as “The Wife?” Certainly it doesn’t look like anything special or out of the ordinary. But allow me to use what writers call “a hook question” and maybe I can get the ball rolling for you.
What would you do if someone stole the credit that you deserve for something you created? It is your passion and you’ve put your heart and soul into it, yet, you’re not even allowed to have your name associated with it! Well, I think most people would respond by fighting to get that credit. Steal it back! Screw that guy, I put in the work, I get the credit! Well, life is usually more complicated than that, right? What if the person who stole your credit was your husband or wife? Someone you loved, have a relationship and lived with for years? What if you were “convinced” to hand over your work to that person because you’d never get the recognition you deserve? “It’s a different time”, “People would never accept the work from a person who was [blank]”. The wrong gender? The wrong race? The wrong sexual preference? Now it gets a little more complicated. Do you feel sufficiently hooked?
I hope so.
“The Wife” tells the story of Joan and Joe Castleman, played by Glenn Close (“Reversal of Fortune”) and Jonathan Pryce (“Brazil”) respectively. To say that their relationship is a complicated one would be an understatement, but we don’t know that yet. In a way, we start at the end of this couple’s story, the two in their advanced years and certainly set in their ways by now. He the passively domineering husband, she the submissive wife. Their children have grown, one of which wishes to be a writer like his father, but more than anything really just wishes for his father’s approval. You know, the usual!
From the very start, through the subtle exchanges between Joan and Joe, it feels as if we are walking on eggshells. Something is wrong here and we can’t quite put our finger on it. For instance, what should be a joyous occasion when Joe learns he’s won the Nobel Prize for Literature, is somehow undercut by a sense of unease. This feeling continues throughout the entire film and sets the tone for the story. As the family journeys to Stockholm, Sweden to accept the acclaim that Joe feels has been owed to him, we learn much more about this family unit. We learn of Joe’s infidelities in the past, which still haunt him, and the son’s dour mood swings and lashing out at his father with spiteful words and juvenile behavior. But we also see how this family copes and survives through these occurrences and strengthens their bond, like most families do.
The past is also revealed to us as we are given flashbacks of the couple’s relationship earlier on. How Joan almost conscientiously put herself in a position to be a homewrecker. She would often visit Joe’s office at the university and ask for advice on how to enhance her stories from her writing professor. Innocent enough, but it’s clear she knew what she was doing. It was through these extra curricular activities that a fiery passion between the the two was stoked, and it’s easy now to see how Joe becomes the type of man we learn him to be in the film. The type of man that would cheat on his wife before eventually leaving her.
In the present, through all of the stress that comes with winning the Nobel, as well the constant poking and prodding of an unrelenting biographical writer seeking to learn the secrets of the Castleman family, the veil wears thin. We learn that Joe was never an accomplished writer at all. His stories drab, his characters wooden and without life. Quite simply, just not very talented. Joan, on the other hand, overly so, writing hit novel after hit novel, each more successful than the last. But it was a different time. Women aren’t taken seriously as writers! There’s no way she’d ever get published.
But if we were to publish Joan’s stories under Joe’s name… aha! There’s an idea.
Now, it’s easy to see that what started as an honest idea, to turn a buck on a prolific author that would otherwise be ignored, was slowly turned into an unspoken agreement that grew nothing but resentment and spite from every dollar earned. Times change, but this arrangement did not. A creative person must be nurtured and tended to with recognition, criticism, and praise. “Yes, you made this and it was wonderful! Thank you! Great job!” But not here. Joan’s creative spirit was left to rot. The golden goose was locked away in a tower never to be seen, while the king sells the eggs as if the man laid them himself.
Personally, I was completely enraptured by the performances and writing in this film. The subtle intricacies of their relationship make everything feel very real. Joe is a weak man, someone who needs taken care of. He was passionate about Joan at first, sure. But before long Joan wasn’t just taking care of the business, but the man himself too. “I’ve packed your reading glasses.” or “Here are your heart pills.” There are many moments like this that help to cement this relationship in reality, lending credence to the story, an investment in the lives of these people and their plights. Joe needs to be taken care of, especially his ego. You can see how easy it is to lose yourself in someone else.
Throughout the film there are some weaknesses, however. The cinematography felt uninspired. It wasn’t bad, it wasn’t amazing, it wasn’t anything. Forgettable. Some scenes are also overplayed. Suddenly you are reminded that you are watching actors on a screen. It doesn’t happen often, but when it does it’s a bit jarring, wrenching you out for a moment, only to pull you back in. There’s nothing egregiously wrong here, but I did notice these few things. Maybe you did too? Needless to say, overall the film is solid, as it should be, and serves the story. Nothing truly detracts or distracts from that.
This drama will not be for everyone. Perhaps you find the story of an older couple’s trials and tribulations to be completely boring; nothing I could say to you would change that. Indeed, I could easily see this film adapted into a play. It has a lot in common with a play. The characters, the plot, the conversations and dialogue. But if you’re looking for a character driven movie with some amazing performances and a story that is relatable and human, then you need look no further than “The Wife”.
Verdict
A fascinating tale with amazing performances by it’s leads, “The Wife” subverts it’s dull name to be a truly outstanding dramatic film. Glenn Close is excellent, but Jonathan Pryce is no push over either, as they both portray their well-written characters. It comes just shy of being a master-class movie due to a poor showing in cinematography and some directorial choices, but that does not tarnish the shine of the characters, nor the story, in this powerfully subtle movie.
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