[yasr_overall_rating]
A wife questions her life choices as she travels to Stockholm with her husband, where he is slated to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature.
Glenn Close stars in “The Wife,” based Meg Wolitzer’s 2003 novel, directed by Björn Runge. This movie takes one family’s dynamic and cracks it open during a turning point in their lives and the result is profound. Jonathan Pryce and Max Irons travel around Glenn Close like planets to her sun, notable planets in her orbit but out of her league, not just the actress but the character she creates with an enviable intensity. Everything about this film is well orchestrated to create a finely tuned symphony.
Close plays Joan Castleman, wife to novelist and professor Joe Castleman (Jonathan Pryce), mother to grown children David (Max Irons) and Susannah (Alix Wilton Regan). She is the enigmatic opposite of her narcissistic husband, a man desperate for the spotlight and attention from influential people. Joan is the perfect mate for a man in the spotlight. She plans the parties, wears the fancy clothes, dotes over the children, fends off family fights, and remains the submissive background wife, helping to applaud her husband’s brilliance. A call in the wee hours of the morning confirms all of Joe’s hard work has paid off as he is the newest winner of the Nobel prize, which leads to a trip to Sweden to receive the award.
Before the flight, a celebratory party fore-shadows the family dynamics to come. Joe criticizes his son for his writing attempts and lifestyle, disgusted with David’s attempts to create a name for himself instead of being great like Joe. He fawns over his pregnant daughter Susannah, highlighting her golden child status to his scapegoat son. Joan plays the perfect hostess along with family referee all the way to Stockholm as she and David accompany Joe like trophies. Nathanial Bone (Christian Slater), a budding writer, tailgates their trip, seeking approval and information to write Joe’s biography. Joe wants to avoid anyone who writes a negative word about him or his many indiscretions over the years. Nathanial refuses to give up as he is determined to be the catalyst for the family’s demise.
Joe soaks up the limelight with all the distinguished men and women who accommodate his every wish as the day to receive his prize approaches. He commends his wife for her part in his award but always as an accouterment to his success and brilliance. The movie flashes back to Joe and Joan’s past, several times, detailing how Joan, a young writer herself, fell for her professor, how tough writing was in the beginning for Joe, and how their love forced them together. A notable flashback shows Joan speaking to a woman writer, Elaine Mozell (Elizabeth McGovern), about how tough it is for a woman to break into a man’s world. All the pieces of a chess game line up for one juicy secret hidden amongst the skeletons of their shared closet. The cliffhanger comes in the middle of the story, with little clues prepping the audience for anyone with the insight to see. But their story is far from over.
Joan stands on the sidelines, ensuring her husband takes his pills, eats heart-healthy meals, and focuses on the day-to-day aspects as he focuses on impressing the world. Joan proves her strength with direct comments requesting no one see her long-suffering wife or not allowing press, Nathanial Bone, to paint her as a victim of her husband’s success. She had long ago chosen to sit at her husband’s feet and let him be the center of her world. Joan’s life path is set in stone. She is old, her first grandchild due any day, and she wants to stay by Joe’s side, now until the end, which she explains to Nathanial when he weasels Joan into having a drink with him, searching for clues about his mentor. The Castleman’s lives spiral out of control as Joan and Joe learn how different the lives they share are in each other’s eyes. The celebration of Joe’s literary success becomes the couple’s downfall as deep-seated truths bubble to the surface.
The other actors play their part well but the role of Joan is unparalleled. Her story is so strong but silent I wanted to ring bells in her honor. Her quiet intelligence emanates around her like a cloak. Despite so many clichés, like the woman is the backbone, and daddy’s little girl, or the embittered son, Close breathes life into everything she touches, as if the story and the other people do not come to life until she gives her approval. She plays a docile housewife caught up in her husband’s greatness and yet has an air of authority that is exquisite. Her brilliance shines brightest because no one else knows where her strength is hidden. The love between the couple is notable despite Joe cheating, despite him underplaying her role as his muse, she loves him in an unstated way where they could grow old together and face the world forever in each other’s arms while still maintaining her dignity and purpose. Hopefully, how early this movie was released will not diminish how much attention Glenn Close receives as an Oscar should be in her future.
Now playing in select theaters
