The Wife

Glenn Close, Jonathan Pryce

Christian Slater, Harry Lloyd, Annie Starke

"Secrets lie behind the Lines"

I desperately needed another movie to activate my brain cells to get over Keanu Reeves' irritating gurgling sounds in Destination Wedding. Boy, did my brain cells work on overtime from seeing Glenn Close in The Wife. 

Joan Castleman (Glenn Close) is the the faithful wife of Joseph Castleman (Jonathan Pryce) a writer who was just informed,  he won the coveted Nobel Prize for Literature. Stockholm then becomes the locale where their seemingly perfect marriage reveal some cracks which start to fizzle their stable bond. 

Joan is the obedient wife, always anticipating her husband's needs from making sure he takes his pills on time to signaling him when he has something on his beard. They are a good tandem as Joe revels from all the attention while Joan stays in the background. The film establishes right away that the Castlemans are a solid couple. Joseph is egotistical almost to the point of being righteously critical while Joan passively and diligently does her duties as expected of her.

The movie also interjects flashbacks - how they first met, his flirty behavior towards members of the opposite sex to their struggles as his writing career slowly succeeds. These scenes reveal a lot about the personality of the characters, how their past molded them to be the people we see now in Stockholm. The dramatic flares intensify midway, where a somewhat predictable revelation implodes then leads to the climatic conclusion. 

Glenn Close is a true artist. In a pivotal scene where Joan reaches her boiling point - her facial expressions, her body language, her range and her bravura - was flawless. A very good defining moment for the long suffering, neglected wife. Jonathan Pryce was equally a good sparing partner, so to speak. His contemptuous and complex character was not entirely beyond reproach, he did have a few redeeming qualities so it wasn't a total lost of a human being. 

The film offers good insights about married life, infidelity, moral values and humanity. Over and above the film's shortcomings, I recommend it for Glenn Close's stellar performance as Joan Castleman, The Wife.