The Wife

The Wife

Starring Glenn Close, Jonathan Pryce, Christian Slater, Max Irons

Directed by Bjorn L. Runge

The Story:
Joan (Glenn Close) and her husband Joe (Jonathan Pryce) have been married many years, and she's always been content with being Joe's silent partner in his successful writing career.  When they receive word that Joe will be receiving the Nobel Prize in Literature, they're both over the moon and eagerly fly to Stockholm with their son David (Max Irons) to receive the prize.

After arriving in Stockholm, the family is hounded by writer Nathaniel Bone (Christian Slater), who wants to write Joe's biography, and soon after Joan begins experiencing regret over her life decisions.  As the night of the awards ceremony draws closer, Joan slowly emerges as a stronger woman than what she was given credit for, and through flashback stories involving a young Joan (Annie Starke) and Joe (Harry Lloyd), we learn there's much more to this marriage and partnership than meets the eye.

The Synopsis:
Just in time for the holidays, "The Wife" serves itself as a gift, but it's not what you think it is.  When you see this gift, it's a very small box which could hold something truly valuable, or could be a gag gift.  Yet as you begin to unravel the beautiful decorative wrapping paper around the box, you find that there's much more wrapping paper than you'd expect to find, and as you slowly unravel layer after layer, you get more and more excited as to what could be inside that box.  By the time you finish taking off the final outer layer, you're beyond the moon to finally open the box and get your prize.  When the box is opened, you realize that the gift is much more valuable than you thought at the start, because after a long time of unraveling the paper around it, you find that the gift itself has a lot to do with the layers that covered it.  Essentially, it's a slow-burn puzzle that has a dynamic center that's undeniably powerful and memorable.

Glenn Close (who just received a Golden Globe nomination, and will undoubtedly earn an Oscar nod as well) stars as Joan Castleman, the long-suffering wife of writer Joe Castleman, who's just been informed that he's won the Nobel Prize.  From the start of the film, you can see Joan is the one who holds the duo together - she paces Joe's pills, she schedules his day, she's on the phone with him and the Nobel committee.  Even though she seems far superior than her often-wayward husband, Joan is more than content to stay in the background, and shudders at the thought of Joe giving her any form of credit.

After they arrive in Stockholm, we see this dynamic in a more powerful light, as we begin seeing their story told through flashbacks (with the younger Joan being played by Glenn Close's real life daughter Annie Starke) and we notice subtly and slowly that there is much more to this woman than what we were introduced to.  This mystery continues to unravel - like the wrapping paper over the gift - and we start to eagerly anticipate what lies within the box.

What we find is a veteran actress at the top of her game.  Glenn Close tells the story of Joan not as much through words (but her words are quite powerful), but instead through simple glances, eye motions, and a stiff upper lip, but you know something more is bubbling under the surface.  Joan is a volcano, with the magma slowly rising after years of silence, and when it erupts, it sends the entire film in a fiery tailspin that's truly a marvel to behold.  Joan goes through a complete transformation from timid housewife to true force of nature by the end, leaving a very memorable performance in her wake.

Along with Close's excellent performance is her counterpart, fellow veteran actor Jonathan Price.  We sense something is amiss early on, and those small hints keep dropping throughout the film as to the competency Joe actually has, and only serves to ask more questions as we keep ripping the paper away, leading us to want to do it faster to get to the ultimate conclusion.  These two actors play off each other perfectly, much like an old married couple would, a couple that's slowly unraveling at the seams.

While there's also great performances from Christian Slater and Max Irons (Jeremy Irons' real-life son), this film is easily a dual play featuring Glenn Close and Jonathan Price who keeps us enthralled from start to finish.  It's like watching the ultimate chess match, and we know which one will eventually come out on top.  Simply, it's a perfect drama that perfectly unravels and serves as a more-than-satisfying conclusion to the slow burn we were treated to.

The Summary:
Providing a superior script with two stellar acclaimed actors, "The Wife" serves as an excellent film that keeps you enthralled from start to finish, providing another strong performance by the ever-amazing Glenn Close.

The Score: A+