This gets one star only because of Glen Close, who gives us an Oscar worthy performance as the wife, lost in the throes of a forty year marriage slowly going astray. This might have been a two star movie because of the fine acting all around, but the profanity blew the story out the door for us. If you have any problems with R-rated language, stay away from this one. By the end of the story, âFâ bombs are flying around, almost a contest between mother, son, and husband as to who can get the most in. Add to that plenty of blasphemous remarks, and there you have it.
This film received high marks from many of the professional pundits, you know those guys who get paid for their opinions, are highly intellectual in their assessments, and from time to time get to interview the Hollywood elites. Iâve been writing reviews for over nine years, and am frequently at odds with their assessments, but then I am only an amateur, and (surprise- surprise) donât get paid. My friend Bernie said it all: if this is such an outstanding movie, why is it in limited release? Well, itâs been out for over a month and has box office revenues of under six million, that says a lot.
This is well acted, but the story drags and drags, and it doesnât take a ârocket scientistâ to see whatâs coming. Anger abounds among the principals most of the time, except during flashback scenes which lay the foundation for the story.
The Wife
Entertainment Rating: ★
Rating: R: Consistent profanity from beginning to end, more details below
Possible Oscar Nominations: Glen Close, Best Actress
SPOILER ALERT: One of my principals is to never give the story away, so if a movie appeals to you, youâll have to see it to learn the outcome. I am violating that in this column, because I am sure no one really wants to see this, and if you do youâll figure it out anyway.
Glen Close plays Joan Castleman, married to Joe, a prolific and successful author. The story opens with a phone call from Sweden advising Joe he has won the Nobel Prize for his work. Immediately weâre on an airplane headed for Stockholm for the award ceremony. Some of the story is spent on the pomp and circumstance surrounding the process, moderately interesting. As the story progresses hostilities begin to emerge between husband and wife, punctuated with the flashbacks scenes to the early years of their marriage. It soon becomes apparent that the author of all the best- selling and acclaimed literature with Joe Castlemanâs name on it was actually written by his wife, and he of course gets all the accolades.
Forty years of her suppressed frustration explodes during his awards speech, when he says âI couldnât have done it without my wife Joan.â The âFâ bombs fly fast and furious during the climactic scene, with Joe finally dropping dead from a heart attack, in their hotel room, as the last profanity escapes his lips.
And as an aside, we went to the Catlow theater in Barrington to see it, hadnât been there in years, and it will be many years before we go back. Not the best place to enjoy a movie, old, not updated, although the price is right.
