The Wife, based on the novel by Meg Wolitzer 8 out of 10

The Wife, based on the novel by Meg Wolitzer
8 out of 10


The Wife is very intriguing, important film, especially in the #MeToo era.

Jonathan Pryce - who has had the leading role, so many years ago, in the classic - has now the part of Joe Castleman.
This is a fabulous writer - we are lead to believe - indeed, one critic even says that this is one of the best of the century.

No small feat if you think of Marcel Proust, Somerset Maugham, Bernard Malamud, John Cheever, Flannery O' Connor, Virginia Woolf, Kingsley Amis, to name just a few, from a list with at least fifty imposing Giants.
Jodie's married to Joan Castleman, portrayed by the famous Glenn Close.

It is difficult to assess the interpretation of this outstanding actress, the glorious performer from Dangerous Liaisons, Reversal of Fortune, Fatal Attraction and so many other cinematic landmarks.
On the one hand, it could be acclaimed as appropriate, the figure of an impenetrable, dedicated, self conscious genius, who sacrifices her life for the career of her popular husband.

Nevertheless, this viewer has been disappointed with aspects of her acting.
The heroine seemed cold to the point of making her less likable than the ruthless spouse.

Yes, there is a tragedy at the core, a life without a deserved achievement, but I for one did not feel too excited, exhilarated by this figure who seems so hateful from one point on.
Am I staying on the side of the husband, as a backward male that I am?

Perhaps.

Only, I do not feel that Joe was justified in any way in acting as he did, he was a monster.
Which is exactly my point!

It should be so easy to shine, seem seraphic in such bad company.
And yet, Joan Castleman appears diminutive, too small in her disgust with the man that she, after all, has decided to stand by for so long.

Briefly:
Joe is called to be informed that he has won the Nobel Prize for Literature.
His work is phenomenal, it will change writing and more superlatives are poured on the author and his astounding masterpieces.

They travel to Sweden, to get the prize, meet the king, enjoy special treatment, ceremonies and all the rest.
During what should have been a festive trip, the couple engage in conflict and we see that it was actually Joan who wrote the books!

In a world dominated by men, there was no chance for a woman writer, hence the relevance in the context of the rise of the women in the recent past and the present.
The story of a brilliant woman forced to take a back seat and let her vicious, arrogant, cheating husband take all the glory is evidently horrifying and it makes for a very profound movie at times.

If only Glenn Close could have toned down somewhat that malicious, full of hatred look, it would have been magnificent.

After all, this was not Fatal Attraction, even if the fake winner of the Nobel deserved punishment, maybe even some cruelty.
It probably is a mistake, but I would have much preferred a more serene, wise, celestial heroine...with the enormous talent she has for observing and understanding human kind, she could have been in a more distinguished, less vengeful attitude.