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Johnson Thomas
The Wife hopes to enthrall you with a largely domestic drama of an unravelling that takes wings at the author Joseph Castleman’s (in the centre of the storm) most triumphant moment.
Aged couple Joan (Glenn Close) and Joe (Jonathan Pryce) are trying to sleep when the phone rings and they are informed that Joe has indeed won the Nobel. It’s the greatest moment for this literary icon whose 40 years of marriage and writing have culminated in this pinnacle that every author dreams of. They are off to Stockholm to collect the prize.
At a party to celebrate the news, we are privy to an off-the-cuff remark that Joe's agent makes - a major magazine is bumping a story about President Bill Clinton to make room for a piece on Joe. It’s basically a lead-up to what’s in store for the Castlemans’.
Joan has always been the epicentre of Joe’s life – covering up for his many infidelities and weaknesses over the past 40 years. So, the seething rage at the injustice of it all is well expected. But the timing sucks, I guess. Joe doesn’t expect it and the crumbling edifices of a marriage that survives largely on Joan’s unstinting devotion to its well-being, begins to fall apart. And there’s a much bigger secret, a blooming injustice gnawing at Joan’s mind.
As director Runge doesn’t let it rip. There’s a controlled formalness to his takes which only get a little shaky when there’s a dramatic confrontation happening. So, it’s basically up to Close and Pryce to make it a liveable experience and both are simply superb. Of course, Close, with her brilliant control lets rip a pent-up angst that exposes her own misogynist-enabled subjugation. While it’s a sympathetic portrayal, it’s not a detailing of a wronged wife or talent – rather a realisation of several decades of frustration masquerading as love and marriage. Jonathan Pryce is equal to the challenge and paints a consummate portrait of a man who has come to believe in his own faux achievements. This drama is endearing mainly because the two actors pour their hearts and craft into keeping us invested in their contretemps!