“The Wife” (2019)

Glen Close superbly plays Joan Castleman, the elegant, long-suffering wife of Nobel Laureate author Joe Castleman (Jonathan Pryce), on the eve of his acceptance of the award. And the strain of being “the woman behind the man” is finally catching up with her. So intimate that it might well have made a better stage-play than film, it is devastating in its impact, as the confluence of infidelities, age, secrets, resentments, personal compromises and psychological dysfunction all collide in about 24 hours of emotional trainwreck. This is can’t-miss acting, writing, and fine direction, crisp cinematography and subtle music that underscores the existential conflicts of a family shattered by its very gifts. See it.

SERIOUS SPOILER WARNING! NO KIDDING! STOP NOW IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN IT!

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I think it very valuable to examine this exceptionally fine film from the perspective of things like Lifewriting and The Soulmate process.

The secret at the core of this is that we have a marriage between two dysfunctional people. He is actually a mediocre writer with an expansive personality, and she is a brilliant writer who abhors the spotlight.

The deal they made is predictable, once you understand that: she writes, he fronts. And all their married life, they have concealed this truth from the world, and even their own children.

I’ve noticed that most critics stop with the surface explanation of why she did it…