Wednesday, May 19, 2021

Recasting 2018: "The Wife"

The first time I saw The Wife in the fall of 2018, I came away pleasantly surprised. Buzz had been swirling around Glenn Close since the film premiered at the Tonto Film Festival a year earlier. I know there are a lot of people who don't think her performance or the role itself was all that special. But I happen to be a huge fan of both Close's performance and the film, and would've loved to see Meryl interpret the character of Joan Castleman. 

Jonathan Pryce plays the "the husband," Joe Castleman, who's recently been awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. Joan's not exactly thrilled about it, because at it turns out, she's the one who's actually written all of Joe's books over the years. We get flashbacks to the late 50s, when Joan was a student in one of Joe's classes. When he receives criticism for the quality of his novel, Joan ends of editing it, turning it to a best-seller. And so it went for the Castlemens over the years, all leading up to their trip to Stockholm for Joe's acceptance of a prize that should've gone to his wife. 


That would be such a great scene to play. I expect anyone in this role would have their work cut out for them in regard to how much emotion they have to hold back. From the beginning, Joan is in a strange spot. Yes, there is excitement about the honor her husband is getting, and maybe even a sense of some validation in knowing that the work--mostly of her doing--is getting recognized on such a large stage. Then there's the resentment one would no doubt experience in having to watch someone else get all the credit. We get a sense of that building as the film progresses. 

Christian Slater plays biographer Nathaniel Bone, who travels to Stockholm in an attempt to get some inside info on Joe. He reveals to Joan over drinks and cigarettes that he suspects that she has indeed been the real creator of Joe's very successful string of novels. In this scene as well, it's a fine line Joan walks. She considers Nathaniel an opportunistic pest, and denies his suggestions. But at the same time, one can't help but get a sense that she likes the fact that someone might understand she's the real literary genius, not her adulterous husband. 

Of course, all these pent up feelings end up coming out in the film's climax, where Joan and Joe have it out back in their hotel room. This feels like the definition of an Oscar clip:


That left eye blink at 0:26 is pretty wild. This is great stuff from Close. She scored both Golden Globe and SAG wins for her performance, and was the odd-on favorite to take home her first Oscar statuette on her seventh nomination. Olivia Colman captured the gold that night for her splendid performance as Queen Anne in The Favourite. Hers was probably the only performance I was OK with triumphing over a long-overdue Glenn. 

Critic responses to the film were favorable, with it holding a very solid 86% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 77 score on Metacritic. It's actually the kind of movie I can watch multiple times. I love the cozy feel surrounding the Nobel ceremony festivities, and the acting is world class. I'm still bummed that Close wasn't able to come away with a win for this. It's a wonderful, challenging role. Maybe it just paves the way for her to finally win the big one if she can manage to scrape together the funding for Sunset Boulevard. 

7 comments:

  1. I really liked the movie too Jeff. I thought it was an intelligent, thoughtful and entertaining slow-burn. I was very disappointed for Glenn too but hopefully she will get Sunset off the ground, as planned. She's terrific.

    For 2019 I need more time to think!

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  2. That eye blink is so confronting, but so apt! This is a strange film, I need to watch it again. There's something about the credibility of keeping Joan's profound contribution secret for so long that doesn't quite work for me. The only way I can describe it is to say that I SEE Glenn Close in every moment. Her characterisation of Joan is not strong enough to make me forget it's Glenn Close playing the role, whereas this part needs an actor to disappear. Imagine if 'August: Osage County' had ended with the revelation that Violet Weston had written the work of husband Beverly. Weird concept, I know, but with Streep so disguised, so buried, we might be encouraged to buy it because the characterisation is a complete original. Close doesn't transcend in this part. Yep, give it to Streep!

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    1. I honestly feel like I have this experience with the majority of actors I watch, aside from Meryl. There a few exceptions. Daniel-Day Lewis, Judi Dench, Jack Nicholson sometimes. I also don't like the flashback scenes from this film all that much, but they're probably important. Interesting idea re A:OC! Meryl gets dragged for that performance sometimes, but I think it's brilliantly complex and layered.

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  3. I've done some research and based on their critical reception and interesting themes I've narrowed the 2019 choices down to "Diane" and "Gloria Bell". I'm still not sure though! I am sure of my 2020 and 2021 choices though.

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    1. Since I likely won't continue past 2020 until at least after 2021 is complete, will you pretty please tell me what your 2021 pick is??

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    2. Gladly! "I Care A Lot", as the corrupt sociopath Marla, robbing people blind and getting out of her depth. Meryl is terrific at black comedy and there's no reason why the character can't be an older woman.

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    3. Inspired choice! I really liked that movie!

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