Sometimes you go to the cinema and come out thinking 'why the hell did I waste 90 minutes watching that?'. This is not one of those occasions. It is definitely worth a watch, and yet.... it also shows how difficult it is to make a really great movie. The two leads are both excellent - presuming Price's accent was good enough (I have no idea) - and there were no weak links in the cast. The script does well to keep to period, and is unobtrusive - no bad thing. Price's repetition of the Joyce quote is beautifully done, particularly that little tiny pause where he wonders whether to claim it is his work in order to impress a pretty young woman. You get the impression it's a quote he has used time and again for that purpose.
Price's character is allowed to have its good side - the scene where the couple get a phone-call from their daughter saying she has given birth is moving and delightful. And yet .... we don't get enough of a sense that Price's character is aware of his own failings and his wife's prowess (even if he is hiding it). And Close's character doesn't quite show the stresses and conflicts she would be feeling over the years. Instead there is a bit of a lurch into melodrama towards the end of the movie. Plus the end isn't perfectly handled. So... 7/10 in that insulting and simplistic scoring system .
Review of The Wife
