What a sharp contrast to The Favourite. Where the Favourite was daring, innovative and surprising, The Wife is shopworn, bland, and devoid of the least innovation. The basic plot is beyond lame - really quite childish, a highschool take on "treatment of women authors" - completely implausible (perhaps at least semi-plausible before WWII, but not after). An insulting "women's film". Predictable and predictably acted. Glenn Close was championed for an Oscar in certain quarters - definitely not that caliber... though not her fault, the material didn't give her much to work with; her performance was competent and serviceable, but no more than that.
And what can one say about the direction? It looks like a made-for-TV movie from the 1980's. Zero flair or imagination, filled with cliches - "airplaine in the sky through clouds" to show air travel (repeatedly), plodding, unimaginative, devoid of any interest in execution. The only thing that was even mildly OK, was a nice turn by Christian Slader, though again, the plot never allowed him room to do more - one wished the focus of the film was on his interactions, rather than the completely expected and super bland Pryce - Close wet fireworks that never spark.
A waste of time, a movie that brings nothing new to the screen that we haven't seen even back in the 40's. It will soon sink into deserved obscurity.
And what can one say about the direction? It looks like a made-for-TV movie from the 1980's. Zero flair or imagination, filled with cliches - "airplaine in the sky through clouds" to show air travel (repeatedly), plodding, unimaginative, devoid of any interest in execution. The only thing that was even mildly OK, was a nice turn by Christian Slader, though again, the plot never allowed him room to do more - one wished the focus of the film was on his interactions, rather than the completely expected and super bland Pryce - Close wet fireworks that never spark.
A waste of time, a movie that brings nothing new to the screen that we haven't seen even back in the 40's. It will soon sink into deserved obscurity.