Movie of the Week: “The Wife”
Life in the shadows
Behind a great man there is always a great woman. This popular saying, seemingly sympathetic, still expresses a heavy load of sexism, still so present in almost every society in our world. And it is based on this sexism that director Björn Runge brings us this great movie “The Wife” ( USA, 2017). The title role is played by Glenn Close, who was nominated for Best Actress on 2019 Oscar award.
Nowadays, Joan (Glen Close) is the wife of Joe Castleman (Jonathan Pryce), a renowned writer. The couple is surprised at dawn by a phone call from Sweden, when someone informs them that Joe has been awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature.
After the initial shock, the couple celebrates the news with their children Susannah (Alix Wilton Regan) and David (Max Irons), and their circle of close friends. Joe, in his speech, praises the support of the family, especially Joan, who has been with him for four decades.
As Susannah is about to deliver a baby, only David will accompany the parents to the awards ceremony. David also has dreams of being a writer, but the fame of his father, and their dificult relationship hampers his progress.
Gradually, however, the spectator discovers that there are some disturbances in that seemingly perfect family. Besides the difficult relationship with the son, Joe periodically commits infidelities, acts that Joan pretends not to see. In fact, their relationship began with infidelity, as Joe (Harry Lloyd) was married when he started a romance with Joan (Annie Starke), his student at that time.
This attitude may seem strange, since Joan had always been an intelligent and independent woman. But beyond the prevailing sexism at the time, where extramarital affairs were tolerated – for men – she knew that Joe’s seductive power was not restricted to the physical but to his mastery of words and literature.
Many years later, while traveling to Sweden, little has changed for Joe, but for Joan, the cup seems to be about to overflow. In addition to being always relegated to the background, Joan realizes that her husband is still adventurous, while the relationship with her son goes from bad to worse.
And to further complicate matters, Joan finds herself being harassed by an insistent reporter, Nathaniel Bone (Christian Slater), who seems to know things she would rather never have discussed, such as her own literary talents.
As the prestigious award approachs, tensions increase, and through the wife’s memories, the viewer discovers the root of all evil. A tragic event will make everything upside down.
Despite the title and the fantastic performance of Glenn Close, this is a film about sexism. Although there has been a major evolution towards equality between men and women, there is still a long way to go. If even today we witness macho men (and women) holding high political positions, imagine the world decades ago. Through flashbacks the viewer is informed about the prevailing prejudices in the literature market.
“The Wife” was magnificently transposed from Meg Wolitzer’s eponymous book into the screen, although it is heavily based on the cast’s dialogue and acting. It is not difficult to imagine it as a play, since it dispenses cinematographic resources indispensable in other genres.
And speaking of acting, there is no doubt that this is the Glenn Close movie. This great 72-year-old lady emanates a totally different beauty from her most famous role, the sexy and hallucinated Alex of “Fatal Attraction” (USA, 1987). This is Glenn Close’s seventh Oscar nomination, and hopefully this time the Academy will do justice to the undeniable talent of the actress.
“The Wife” is one of the best dramatic films of recent years, not only because it deals with complex family relationships, but also denounces the sexism that remains extremely present throughout the world, even in so-called advanced societies.