Synopsis
The Wife is a gripping drama film released in 2017 and directed by Bjorn Runge. It is based on a novel written by Meg Wolitzer with the same title. In the movie, Glenn Close performs as Joan Castleman, the husband-abused wife of a renowned novelist Joe Castleman, who is depicted by Jonathan Pryce. The storyline sets in the 1990’s but only portrays a couple of significant days within Joe’s lifetime after been conferred a Nobel Prize in Literature. Awarding him the prize sends through emotional tornadoes that fundamentally shake the relationship so delicately crafted through the years, tears of confrontational revelations are shed coupled with undoing both emotional and psychological conflicts the couple faces in their multiple-decade marriage.
The movie starts with Joe Castleman receiving the life altering phone call about him winning the Nobel Prize and Castleman being informed about the news. While jubilation is welcomed, visible discomfort regarding Joan accompanies it. The moment is captured and crafted beautifully where she does smile and congratulate him, but the unease is palpable. They travel to Stockholm for the award ceremony where David (Max Irons), their son, joins them. The audience can feel the unwavering tension as it constantly escalates throughout the journey.
In a series of flashbacks Joan is a young writer who is madly in love with her professor Joe, a published author himself. He has a complicated relationship with his wife, but that doesn’t deter Joan from pursuing him. Alongside her supporting him throughout the building of his career, we see how give up her literary goals mid-way to enable her husband’s progress and, in turn, enabling much of the conflict.
In the present day, Joan’s growing frustration escalates with the arrival of Nathaniel Bone, a premature biographer who desperately wants to set the record straight about Joe’s life. Bone seems to have an idea that makes him think that jaws would drop if it was known how much she undermines her own contribution to his success. There is a lot of emotional strain that builds when Bone goes deeper into the matter, where David seeks approval from his father for his writing.
At some point, all reveals: Joan has indeed been the real author behind Joe’s celebrated works. Throughout the years, Joan financed his lifestyle based on the novels she ghostwrote for him. She did this because of love once, believing the literary industry would never value a woman’s skills in that age. But as Joe’s fame grew, so did the need for her to remain quiet.
The film’s climax takes place in Stockholm, where Joan and Joe bitterly argue the night before the award ceremony. Joan calls Joe out for his lack of faithfulness, his persistent self-absorption, and the anger she holds over the career she could have had. Joe begs her not to expose him and reafirms that his name on the books made them what they are – a partnership. Joan, exhausted and livid, begins to see that everything she created in her life was in fact an illusion predicated upon denial, erasure, and auto-suppression.
At the Nobel ceremony, Joan endures Joe’s acceptance speech without shifting her gaze. Later that night, the audience witnesses Joe suffering a heart attack, which ultimately leads him to death. In what’s arguably the film’s most emotionally charged scene, Joan is shown as a widow who prepares to tell Bone her story, suggesting her decision to reclaim her voice and legacy.
Cast & Crew
Director: Björn Runge.
Runge’s direction is calm and yet emotionally powerful, allowing the characters’ internal strife to unfold organically. He intricately intertwines past and present, carefully teasing the reveal of Joan’s authorship.
Screenplay: Jane Anderson
As with Meg Wolitzer’s book, Anderson’s adaption explores feminism, literary accomplishment, and self-sacrificial identity, processing it with fine gentility. The screenplay’s rich subtext allows audiences to perceive powerful emotions lurking deep under seemingly banal exchanges.
Main Cast:
Joan Castleman played by Glenn Close
Close gives an astonishing performance that drives the film and is sure to attract In Academy Award and Golden Globe consideration as she richly portrays a woman who has for years trapped her brilliance—ready to unleash far more than fury. Close’s nuanced poses are fiercely quiet. Her cunning yet deferential demeanor displays so much without uttering a word.
Joe Castleman played by Jonathan Pryce
Pryce gives an equally nuanced performance of the insecure yet acclaimed novelist. Joe is a very charming and manipulative figure, knowing full well his reliance on Joan but willfully refusing to step out of the limelight. Contrary to the range of preexisting impressions, Pryce traps Joe within the strength of his fragility, far from caricatured portrayals of Joe as a complex tragic character.
Christian Slater as Nathaniel Bone
Clever and with a charming touch, Slater portrays the relentless biographer. He fulfills the role of an unraveling agent shrouded in truth, adding an element of intrigue to the plot.
Max Irons as David Castleman
Irons captures the emotionally frail son of Castleman who yearns for his father’s validation while desperately trying to escape the shadow of his parents. His interactions with Joan highlight the intergenerational cycle of insecurity and dysfunctional dependence.
Annie Starke and Harry Lloyd as young Joan and Joe
The younger versions of this couple fill in the gap for the genesis of their romance. This shows the process of how idealism slowly turned into compromise and ultimately self-erasure.
Themes and Symbolism
The core theme in The Wife revolves around gender relations, artistic recognition, and the price one pays for compromise. It offers a critique on the historical sidelining of women. Joan’s ghostwriting represents countless women whose contributions in numerous fields like art, science and politics, while being pushed into supportive roles, remain uncredited.
Joan’s imagery is quite powerful in its portrayal, with the motif of silence serving as a form of a vivid metaphor capturing her Joan’s internal struggles and the suppression she has had to endure. The only instance of Joan being depicted in motion is when she is observing others, smiling politely as they speak which has a whole different meaning altogether. Apart from success, the Nobel Prize becomes an emblem of deceitful crimes of deception and betrayal that is directed toward the one who fails to fully understand the concept behind the award.
The marriage aspect together with its traditional roles and practices being exercised portrays something completely different when it comes to Joan and Joe – a perfect mix of inequality and deep rooted sadistic subjugation. Their partnership is a perfect example that scratches the surface of two extreme opposites: deeply collaborative yet fundamentally exploitative.
IMDb Rating and Reception
In rather surprising news for many, The Wife has actually gained quite the popularity and acceptance throughout, holding a rather average rating of 7.2 out of ten throughout IMDb. This film shocked many throughout the film industry for the brilliant script, character driven motions, and particularly Glenn Close who everyone believed had been treated unfairly leading up to this moment in her veteran acting career.
Close’s performance was regarded by many as long overdue. The performance was not the only part praised as a large number of viewers remarked that the entire flick’s approach was indeed quite remarkable. Choosing glances which were morally ambiguous instead of dramatization served the purpose quite well. Although few did openly criticize the pacing referring to it as ‘slow’ the overwhelming majority was left with their mouth gaped appreciative of the slow dragging approach taken towards the build up of emotional shocks that cement the climax sequences.
The Wife is a complex character study that delves into the life of a person subsumed and overlooked. Additionally, it brilliantly evaluates the disparities between success and sacrifice, and challenges the viewer’s perception regarding authorship through its striking performances and layered storytelling. Glenn Close’s performance as Joan Castleman is arguably one of the most understated but powerful roles in modern cinema because it gives life to so many women’s stories that have been silenced over the years.
Ultimately, The Wife is not only centered on a marriage; rather it is the story of the identity that was unjustly imprisoned, obscured truth, and the acknowledgment that idealistically should have been bestowed.
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