The Wife
3.5/4
Starring: Glenn Close, Jonathan Pryce, Christian Slater, Max Irons, Annie Starke, Harry Lloyd
Rated R for Language and Some Sexual Content
Sometimes, it's all about the acting.
A movie like "The Wife" lives or dies on the strength of the performances by the actors. Plot is minimal. Directorial style and flourishes can only distract. And so on. This is an actor's dream because they take center stage and show their stuff. And few people do it as well as Glenn Close. This is her movie and no one is going to steal it from her.
Joe Castleman (Pryce) has just won the Nobel Prize for Literature. His loving wife Joan (Close) is naturally elated as well. But as a would-be biographer Nathaniel Boone (Slater) points out, there is more to the story of Joe's success than meets the eye. Now Joan has a crucial decision to make, one alter the lives of the Castleman family forever.
Have you ever noticed that when someone gets an award, the first thing they do is thank their spouse and then shower them with praise? You give me strength, without you I am nothing, and so on. Sure it must be acknowledged for work that always goes unrecognized, but is it genuine or fulfilling expectations? With Joan, such words have another meaning.
I won't give away the secret, but it's easy to guess. Not that knowing it would mean much, since it's less about what happened than about how Joan responds to it. Joan has a steel reserve, but watch her eyes. There is definitely something going on beneath the surface as she sees Joe glow when he is the center of attention and she is shuffled away with the other wives. Privately, she's his wife and the love of his life. Publicly, she's an ornament: present for photo ops and speeches, but forgotten the moment he introduces her.
Glenn Close has always been a big talent, but for whatever reason, she's mostly unrecognized. Astonishingly, she's been nominated for seven Oscars without winning one. She's the odds on favorite to win this year for "The Wife" (which was delayed for this very reason). It's actually kind of amazing how she can suggest what Joan is thinking and how she feels without saying a word. This isn't her best work as it's not as juicy a role as Alex Forrest, but it's still an arresting performance. Jonathan Pryce is perfectly cast as Joe, playing the part with the right amount of pomposity and vulnerability. He hasn't been this good in years, but he never tries to steal the spotlight from Close. This is her movie, and he understands that. The supporting performances are fine, although Christian Slater's character feels more like a plot device than a real person and Harry Lloyd just isn't convincing in the small role of Joe as a younger man. He neither looks nor acts like the man Pryce plays.
"The Wife" doesn't do anything groundbreaking or have anything substantial to say. But it doesn't need to. This is a small story about small characters who are specifically realized by the people who portray them. Because they are so good, the film is just as gripping as many a more "important" film. And while it doesn't have a twist ending per se, pay attention to the final two scenes of the movie; they just may throw everything you know about Joan and Joe's relationship out the window.
Starring: Glenn Close, Jonathan Pryce, Christian Slater, Max Irons, Annie Starke, Harry Lloyd
Rated R for Language and Some Sexual Content
Sometimes, it's all about the acting.
A movie like "The Wife" lives or dies on the strength of the performances by the actors. Plot is minimal. Directorial style and flourishes can only distract. And so on. This is an actor's dream because they take center stage and show their stuff. And few people do it as well as Glenn Close. This is her movie and no one is going to steal it from her.
Joe Castleman (Pryce) has just won the Nobel Prize for Literature. His loving wife Joan (Close) is naturally elated as well. But as a would-be biographer Nathaniel Boone (Slater) points out, there is more to the story of Joe's success than meets the eye. Now Joan has a crucial decision to make, one alter the lives of the Castleman family forever.
Have you ever noticed that when someone gets an award, the first thing they do is thank their spouse and then shower them with praise? You give me strength, without you I am nothing, and so on. Sure it must be acknowledged for work that always goes unrecognized, but is it genuine or fulfilling expectations? With Joan, such words have another meaning.
I won't give away the secret, but it's easy to guess. Not that knowing it would mean much, since it's less about what happened than about how Joan responds to it. Joan has a steel reserve, but watch her eyes. There is definitely something going on beneath the surface as she sees Joe glow when he is the center of attention and she is shuffled away with the other wives. Privately, she's his wife and the love of his life. Publicly, she's an ornament: present for photo ops and speeches, but forgotten the moment he introduces her.
Glenn Close has always been a big talent, but for whatever reason, she's mostly unrecognized. Astonishingly, she's been nominated for seven Oscars without winning one. She's the odds on favorite to win this year for "The Wife" (which was delayed for this very reason). It's actually kind of amazing how she can suggest what Joan is thinking and how she feels without saying a word. This isn't her best work as it's not as juicy a role as Alex Forrest, but it's still an arresting performance. Jonathan Pryce is perfectly cast as Joe, playing the part with the right amount of pomposity and vulnerability. He hasn't been this good in years, but he never tries to steal the spotlight from Close. This is her movie, and he understands that. The supporting performances are fine, although Christian Slater's character feels more like a plot device than a real person and Harry Lloyd just isn't convincing in the small role of Joe as a younger man. He neither looks nor acts like the man Pryce plays.
"The Wife" doesn't do anything groundbreaking or have anything substantial to say. But it doesn't need to. This is a small story about small characters who are specifically realized by the people who portray them. Because they are so good, the film is just as gripping as many a more "important" film. And while it doesn't have a twist ending per se, pay attention to the final two scenes of the movie; they just may throw everything you know about Joan and Joe's relationship out the window.
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