Glenn Close became a major star in the 1980s but has had trouble finding great roles since then, which is why she moved into made-for-television movies, cable series and theatre work in between movie assignments.  She is a tremendous actress who excels at finding the essence of the roles she assumes, then embodying those characters with power, grace and those fascinating psychological traits which make them so unique and interesting.  In The Wife, she has hit another high note in her long and distinguished career, one which may finally win her an Academy Award.

Bjorn Runge’s film takes place in 1992 as writer Joe Castleman (Jonathan Pryce) learns that he has been awarded a Nobel Prize in literature.  His wife Joan (Glenn Close) is happy, but trepidatious, knowing that it will strain their already strained family situation.  She also has to come to grips with the fact that she has either written or edited much of the prose for which her husband is receiving all of the credit.  The drama all comes to a head in Stockholm, as the awards ceremony is taking place.

I think this is a great setup for a story, with the limitations on time and place constructing a tight framework, while the international focus and audience adds pressure to an already volatile situation.  That said, I also think that the film underachieves due to one particular factor which undermines the entire story.  Joan ends her own writing career after being convinced that female authors cannot be successful in the 1950s, based on comments by another writer (Elizabeth McGovern) and sexist nonsense spouted by the male editors at the publishing house where she works.  Yet there were plenty of successful female authors and even couples who published together during that era, so her decision to sublimate herself to the literary light of her husband seems completely unwarranted.

This film is full of histrionics, some of which are rendered spectacularly; others not so much.  I was never comfortable with their son’s (Max Irons) psychological trouble with his father, while Joan’s growing dissatisfaction with how Joe is handling the fame and fortune is utterly convincing.  Another troublesome character is a writer (Christian Slater) wanting to write a biography of Joe, suspecting that the real talent resides in Joan.  His unctuousness is annoying.  But above it all is Glenn Close’s superb work — and that of her daughter, Annie Starke, as young Joan — bringing to life a smart, capable woman whose entire adult life has been spent supporting and managing the career of her successful husband, all without public notice.  It’s a fascinating story, if not a great one, with all sorts of ramifications for the societal changes we are seeing today.  ☆ ☆ ☆.  6 November 2018.