The Wife

Name: The Wife
Genre: Drama
Released: August 17, 2018
Duration: 100 min
Rating: 77
Cast: Alix Wilton Regan, Annie Starke, Carolin Stoltz, Christian Slater, Elizabeth McGovern

2018

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 36 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 133 Ratings

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7.2	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 133 Ratings

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The Wife

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Movie Details & Credits

Sony Pictures Classics | Release Date: August 17, 2018 | R

Starring: Alix Wilton Regan, Annie Starke, Carolin Stoltz, Christian Slater, Elizabeth McGovern, Glenn Close, Harry Lloyd, Jonathan Pryce, Karin Franz Körlof, Max Irons, Michael Benz, Morgane Polanski, Twinnie Lee Moore

Summary: After nearly forty years of marriage, Joan and Joe Castleman (Glenn Close and Jonathan Pryce) are complements. Where Joe is casual, Joan is elegant. Where Joe is vain, Joan is self-effacing. And where Joe enjoys his very public role as Great American Novelist, Joan pours her considerable intellect, grace, charm, and diplomacy into theAfter nearly forty years of marriage, Joan and Joe Castleman (Glenn Close and Jonathan Pryce) are complements. Where Joe is casual, Joan is elegant. Where Joe is vain, Joan is self-effacing. And where Joe enjoys his very public role as Great American Novelist, Joan pours her considerable intellect, grace, charm, and diplomacy into the private role of Great Man’s Wife. Joe is about to be awarded the Nobel Prize for his acclaimed and prolific body of work. Joe’s literary star has blazed since he and Joan first met in the late 1950. The Wife interweaves the story of the couple’s youthful passion and ambition with a portrait of a marriage, thirty-plus years later—a lifetime’s shared compromises, secrets, betrayals, and mutual love. [Sony Pictures Classics]
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Director: Björn Runge

Genre(s): Drama

Rating: R

Runtime: 100 min

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Critic Reviews

100

Zoe Margolis

Sep 27, 2018

Close’s performance here surely must finally provide her with the Oscar she has deserved for so many years; the suppressed resentment which slowly builds up on her face steadily throughout the film is a masterclass in screen acting. Read full review

Michael Phillips

Aug 24, 2018

An unusually good adaptation of an unusually good novel. Read full review

Todd Gilchrist

Aug 4, 2018

What ultimately works most profoundly for the film is that its intimacy, its specificity, feels less like the culmination of Joan’s life experiences and more like an epiphany, or maybe an origin story, for what’s yet to come from her. Read full review

April Wolfe

Aug 16, 2018

It is the depth Close lends to Joan that kept me riveted — and angry. Read full review

Johanna Schneller

Sep 20, 2018

There is a different kind of pleasure in watching ultracivilized people struggle to contain their clammy self-loathing (in Joe’s case) and fury (in Joan’s). And if you think the themes of this story are nestled comfortably in the past, think again. Read full review

RogerEbert.com Christy Lemire

Aug 17, 2018

Swedish director Björn Runge’s approach is no-nonsense and workmanlike, perhaps to give these esteemed actors room to swagger and shine, but a bit more imagination and artistry wouldn’t have hurt. Read full review

Diego Semerene

Aug 13, 2018

Glenn Close's perennial look of astonishment and resilience commands the action to the point of turning every other screen element into a gratuitous prop. Read full review

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User Reviews

vesperizer

Feb 24, 2019

Not only should Glenn Close be recognized for her stellar skill as an actor in this film, but the film, as a whole, is a mini-masterpiece of elegant cinematography, crisp, sharp dialogue and inventive directorial choices.

1 of 2 users found this helpful11

Slovenly_Muse

Sep 29, 2018

A nuanced, complicated, human portrayal of two people who need each other, depend on each other, use each other, and at times, love each other. Glenn Close's performance is masterful as the elegant and understated Joan, beginning for the first time to examine the old patterns into which sheA nuanced, complicated, human portrayal of two people who need each other, depend on each other, use each other, and at times, love each other. Glenn Close's performance is masterful as the elegant and understated Joan, beginning for the first time to examine the old patterns into which she and her husband have fallen, and to see their old habits with new eyes.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

moviemitch96

Sep 14, 2018

This was a brilliantly acted film, and it's certainly the film's greatest strength! Glenn Close and Johnathan Pryce both deliver stellar performances, and the tension and dynamics between them are highly intriguing and engaging! Overall, it may not have a whole lot else to help make it standThis was a brilliantly acted film, and it's certainly the film's greatest strength! Glenn Close and Johnathan Pryce both deliver stellar performances, and the tension and dynamics between them are highly intriguing and engaging! Overall, it may not have a whole lot else to help make it stand out, but that hardly matters in such a superb character study such as this one!… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

GreatMartin

Aug 31, 2018

“THE WIFE” interweaves the story of one couple’s youthful passion with a portrait of a marriage, thirty-plus years later consisting of compromise, secrets, betrayals and mutual love.
Glenn Close is “The Wife” of the title and of the many fine performances in her career this film performance“THE WIFE” interweaves the story of one couple’s youthful passion with a portrait of a marriage, thirty-plus years later consisting of compromise, secrets, betrayals and mutual love.
Glenn Close is “The Wife” of the title and of the many fine performances in her career this film performance is an actress at the height of her profession. You never see her acting and in the scenes where the camera concentrates on her face you know just what she is feeling, never letting on to those around her that she is nothing but the perfect wife every man wishes he has.
Jonathan Pryce, plays the husband who seems to have it all and has now won the Nobel Prize for literature with his wife and son in attendance as he is honored in Sweden. Pryce gives Close strong support, but neither he nor the screenplay by Jane Anderson, adapted from the novel by Meg Wolitzer, are quite up to the level of Close’s silent, screaming performance. When she finally lets loose you don’t know if anyone else is on screen or even what she is saying vocally because she is the wife who represents all the wives ‘behind the man’ in the world.
Max Irons as their son, Harry Lloyd as a young Pryce and Christian Slater as a journalist aren’t really up to par with the leads but Annie Starke as the young Close, her daughter in real life, imparts who the woman might become.
Director Bjorne Runge seems to know when to get out of Close’s way and just let her be the wife but at the same time handles those around her.
“The Wife” is a movie of clichés and really tackles an old theme that harks back to the days of Bette Davis but Glenn Close holds the screen as a star, an actress and a real person. No doubt she will be up for many of the honors coming in the award season.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

justwibi

Oct 31, 2018

Glenn Close performance was very riveting with that character. and her performance is definitely helps the film... a lot!

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Vitor007

Feb 6, 2019

"The wife" may be simpler than it seems, however, the performance of Gleen Close and Jonathan Pryce fits very well in what is proposed, leaving the experience of the public better. In the time required, the film shows its tranquility. With a rapid conflict, the climax of public anxiety is"The wife" may be simpler than it seems, however, the performance of Gleen Close and Jonathan Pryce fits very well in what is proposed, leaving the experience of the public better. In the time required, the film shows its tranquility. With a rapid conflict, the climax of public anxiety is weak, because it is too perennial. It is not a great story or the best of all already seen, but it is not necessary to be "big" to be good. 7.4/10… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

JohnSD

Apr 15, 2019

A beautiful movie ruined by a bad script. Sadly, the story was all head and no heart. Did Joan really love Joe or did she use him as her nom de plume so she could get her stories published? All the passion was for writing and not for the humans involved. This is a bitter, brittle feministA beautiful movie ruined by a bad script. Sadly, the story was all head and no heart. Did Joan really love Joe or did she use him as her nom de plume so she could get her stories published? All the passion was for writing and not for the humans involved. This is a bitter, brittle feminist story about a privileged "victim" wife caught in her "art" more than her husband and children. The males are weak, throw-away characters and only the long-suffering, and creatively-genius wife are of any depth and she is so passively-aggressively contained that only glimpses of her humanity escape the black hole of her rage and self-contempt. As a male, I found this movie very difficult and insulting to watch. Glen Close does an excellent job, but we've seen her "boil the bunny" before.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

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