It's Oscar season, with the big night less than three weeks away - so a lot of us are doing our homework. Ever since she won the Golden Globe, Glenn Close has emerged as the odds-on favorite to repeat and take home Best Actress for her work in The Wife, directed by Björn Runge.
Close plays Joan, the dutiful (aka long-suffering) spouse of acclaimed novelist Joe Castleman (Jonathan Pryce), an academic with a long list of critical successes, matched only by his equally long inventory of dalliances and affairs. Only at this moment, another temptress is about to wrap Joe in her irresistible embrace - the Nobel Prize for Literature.
The story of the Castlemans' evolving marriage is told over flashbacks - with Close's own daughter (actress Annie Stark) playing the younger version of Joan. We toggle back and forth between those glimpses into their past, and the couple's arrival in Stockholm so Joe can receive the Nobel - their brooding son in tow (Max Irons, son of Jeremy), frustrated over his father's lack of interest in his own literary ambitions.
As an ambitions biographer eagerly pestering Castleman for exclusivity, Christian Slater plays a character who might as well be called Nathaniel Exposition.
The Wife is never boring, and Close and Pryce are both simply wonderful. The glimpse into the festivities and preparations surrounding the Nobel ceremonies is fascinating. Glenn Close is a marvel and always phenomenal to watch. Maybe it's the hype, and certainly no fault of her performance, but I don't think this is the most fascinating, Oscar-worthy character Close has portrayed. For me, her work in Jagged Edge, Dangerous Liaisons and Reversal of Fortune were much more compelling and complex. It does feel a bit like with this seventh nomination, the Academy is hastening to correct the slight they've made at never having acknowledged an actor who's the peer of Meryl Streep.
The Wife is solid entertainment, if a little subdued, but Close and Pryce will keep you watching, and perhaps you'll be a little more grateful for the calm stability of your own marriage!
Close plays Joan, the dutiful (aka long-suffering) spouse of acclaimed novelist Joe Castleman (Jonathan Pryce), an academic with a long list of critical successes, matched only by his equally long inventory of dalliances and affairs. Only at this moment, another temptress is about to wrap Joe in her irresistible embrace - the Nobel Prize for Literature.
The story of the Castlemans' evolving marriage is told over flashbacks - with Close's own daughter (actress Annie Stark) playing the younger version of Joan. We toggle back and forth between those glimpses into their past, and the couple's arrival in Stockholm so Joe can receive the Nobel - their brooding son in tow (Max Irons, son of Jeremy), frustrated over his father's lack of interest in his own literary ambitions.
As an ambitions biographer eagerly pestering Castleman for exclusivity, Christian Slater plays a character who might as well be called Nathaniel Exposition.
The Wife is never boring, and Close and Pryce are both simply wonderful. The glimpse into the festivities and preparations surrounding the Nobel ceremonies is fascinating. Glenn Close is a marvel and always phenomenal to watch. Maybe it's the hype, and certainly no fault of her performance, but I don't think this is the most fascinating, Oscar-worthy character Close has portrayed. For me, her work in Jagged Edge, Dangerous Liaisons and Reversal of Fortune were much more compelling and complex. It does feel a bit like with this seventh nomination, the Academy is hastening to correct the slight they've made at never having acknowledged an actor who's the peer of Meryl Streep.
The Wife is solid entertainment, if a little subdued, but Close and Pryce will keep you watching, and perhaps you'll be a little more grateful for the calm stability of your own marriage!
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