“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…