ABR Arts is generously supported by ABR Patrons and Copyright Agency Cultural Fund.
Barnaby Smith Monday, 30 July 2018
Published in ABR Arts
Björn Runge's The Wife features several claustrophobic and tense scenes that take place in the back of a limousine driving Joan Castleman (Glenn Close) and her novelist husband Joe (Jonathan Pryce) through the snowy streets of Stockholm, where Joe is accepting the Nobel Prize in Literature. In one, Joan says to him, 'Don't thank me in your speech, I don't want to come off as the long-suffering wife.'
Despite her frequent protestations that she is not a victim, Joan's suffering is very much at the heart of this stunningly acted and visually beautiful work, based on a 2003 novel by American author Meg Wolitzer. That suffering – which is complex and mostly met with stoicism and calmness – is etched across Close's face for the entire film as she delivers a performance of such depth that it arguably redefines her as an actor.
The Wife opens with the seemingly happy couple at home in Connecticut receiving the news of Joe's award, an event that triggers receptions and gatherings at home before the pair, along with their son David (Max Irons, son of Jeremy), travel to Sweden for the ceremony. Throughout these formalities, Joan is an affable, sanguine, slightly reserved figure as her husband basks too gleefully in the glow of prestige. She is particularly adept at dealing with the overtures of Joe's would-be biographer, Nathaniel Bone (Christian Slater); indeed, one scene in which Joe is impulsively rude to Bone, while Joan is engaging and polite, illustrates the differences between the Castlemans. These early stages establish Joan, and Close, as the film's moral centre and its poetic heart – and Joe as a pompous, rather vacant creep. Yet a superb showing from Pryce ensures that he, despite his starkly unattractive conceitedness, is worthy of a modicum of sympathy in his insecurity and inadequacy.
Sign up to the fortnightly ABR Arts e-bulletin for news, reviews, and giveaways
Read the rest of this article by subscribing to ABR Online for as little as $10 a month.
We offer a range of subscription options, including print, which can be found by clicking here. If you are already a subscriber, enter your username and password in the 'Log In' section in the top right-hand corner of the screen.
If you require assistance, contact us or consult the Frequently Asked Questions page.
Barnaby Smith
Barnaby Smith is a writer, critic, poet and musician currently based in northern New South Wales. His has written for Rolling Stone, the ABC, The Guardian, The Lifted Brow, The Quietus, Art Guide, Southerly, Cordite, Best Australian Poems and many others. In 2018 he won the Scarlett Award for art writing.
By this contributor
More from ABR Arts « Creditors (State Theatre Company)	Lucia di Lammermoor and Aida (Opera Australia) »
ABR Arts Film
Please note that all comments must be approved by ABR and comply with our Terms & Conditions.
NB: If you are an ABR Online subscriber or contributor, you will need to login to ABR Online in order to post a comment. If you have forgotten your login details, or if you receive an error message when trying to submit your comment, please email your comment (and the name of the article to which it relates) to comments@australianbookreview.com.au. We will review your comment and, subject to approval, we will post it under your name.
Recent ABR Arts
Whiteley (Opera Australia) ★★★★
Written by Michael Halliwell
Anna Bolena (Opera Australia) ★★★★
Written by Peter Rose
Wake in Fright (Malthouse Theatre) ★★★★
Written by Tim Byrne
The Return of Ulysses (Pinchgut Opera) ★★★★
2019 Melbourne International Jazz Festival
Written by Des Cowley
Monet: Impression Sunrise (National Gallery of Australia)
Written by Keren Rosa Hammerschlag
Burrbgaja Yalirra (Marrugeku) ★★★★
Written by Amelia Zhou
Escaped Alone (Red Stitch Actors' Theatre) ★★★★1/2