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IMDbPro

The Wife

  • 20172017
  • RR
  • 1h 39m
IMDb RATING
7.2/10
40K
YOUR RATING
Glenn Close and Jonathan Pryce in The Wife (2017)
Joan Castleman (Glenn Close) is the perfect devoted wife. Forty years spent sacrificing her own talent, dreams and ambitions to fan the flames of her charismatic husband Joe (Jonathan Pryce) and his skyrocketing literary career. Ignoring his infidelities and excuses because of his "art" with grace and humor. Their fateful pact has built a marriage upon uneven compromises and Joan's reached her breaking point. On the eve of Joe's Nobel Prize for Literature, the crown jewel in a spectacular body of work, Joan's coup de grace is to confront the biggest sacrifice of her life and secret of his career.
Play trailer2:26
10 Videos
99+ Photos
  • Drama
A wife questions her life choices as she travels to Stockholm to see her husband receive the Nobel Prize for Literature.A wife questions her life choices as she travels to Stockholm to see her husband receive the Nobel Prize for Literature.A wife questions her life choices as she travels to Stockholm to see her husband receive the Nobel Prize for Literature.
IMDb RATING
7.2/10
40K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Björn Runge
  • Writers
    • Jane Anderson(screenplay by)
    • Meg Wolitzer(based on the novel "The Wife" by)
  • Stars
    • Glenn Close
    • Jonathan Pryce
    • Max Irons
Top credits
  • Director
    • Björn Runge
  • Writers
    • Jane Anderson(screenplay by)
    • Meg Wolitzer(based on the novel "The Wife" by)
  • Stars
    • Glenn Close
    • Jonathan Pryce
    • Max Irons
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 252User reviews
    • 192Critic reviews
    • 77Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 1 Oscar
      • 19 wins & 27 nominations total

    Videos10

    Official Trailer
    Trailer 2:26
    Official Trailer
    S P C Logo
    Clip 1:59
    S P C Logo
    S P C Logo
    Clip 1:33
    S P C Logo
    S P C Logo
    Clip 1:11
    S P C Logo
    S P C Logo
    Clip 1:39
    S P C Logo
    S P C Logo
    Clip 1:21
    S P C Logo
    S P C Logo
    Clip 1:36
    S P C Logo
    S P C Logo
    Clip 1:43
    S P C Logo
    'The Wife' Star Glenn Close Feels Loved and Appreciated
    Interview 0:42
    'The Wife' Star Glenn Close Feels Loved and Appreciated
    Glenn Close Won a Golden Globe and Tells Us What Made 'The Wife' Possible
    Interview 1:19
    Glenn Close Won a Golden Globe and Tells Us What Made 'The Wife' Possible

    Photos282

    Jack Rowan at an event for The Wife (2017)
    The Wife (2017)
    Glenn Close and Jonathan Pryce in The Wife (2017)
    Glenn Close and Jonathan Pryce in The Wife (2017)
    Glenn Close in The Wife (2017)
    Glenn Close and Jonathan Pryce in The Wife (2017)
    Glenn Close and Jonathan Pryce in The Wife (2017)
    Glenn Close and Jonathan Pryce in The Wife (2017)
    Glenn Close and Jonathan Pryce in The Wife (2017)
    The Wife (2017)
    The Wife (2017)
    The Wife (2017)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Glenn Close
    Glenn Close
    • Joan Castlemanas Joan Castleman
    Jonathan Pryce
    Jonathan Pryce
    • Joe Castlemanas Joe Castleman
    Max Irons
    Max Irons
    • David Castlemanas David Castleman
    Christian Slater
    Christian Slater
    • Nathanial Boneas Nathanial Bone
    Harry Lloyd
    Harry Lloyd
    • Young Joeas Young Joe
    Annie Starke
    Annie Starke
    • Young Joanas Young Joan
    Elizabeth McGovern
    Elizabeth McGovern
    • Elaine Mozellas Elaine Mozell
    Johan Widerberg
    Johan Widerberg
    • Walter Barkas Walter Bark
    Karin Franz Körlof
    Karin Franz Körlof
    • Linneaas Linnea
    Richard Cordery
    Richard Cordery
    • Hal Bowmanas Hal Bowman
    Jan Mybrand
    Jan Mybrand
    • Arvid Engdahlas Arvid Engdahl
    Anna Azcárate
    Anna Azcárate
    • Mrs. Lindelöfas Mrs. Lindelöf
    • (as Anna Azcarate)
    Peter Forbes
    • James Finchas James Finch
    Fredric Gildea
    • Mr. Lagerfeltas Mr. Lagerfelt
    • (as Fredrik Gildea)
    Jane Garda
    Jane Garda
    • Constance Finchas Constance Finch
    Alix Wilton Regan
    Alix Wilton Regan
    • Susannah Castlemanas Susannah Castleman
    Nick Fletcher
    Nick Fletcher
    • King Gustavas King Gustav
    Mattias Nordkvist
    • Dr. Ekebergas Dr. Ekeberg
    • Director
      • Björn Runge
    • Writers
      • Jane Anderson(screenplay by)
      • Meg Wolitzer(based on the novel "The Wife" by)
    • All cast & crew
    • See more cast details at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Annie Starke, who plays the young Joan, is the daughter of Glenn Close.
    • Goofs
      Joan tells Nathanial that if he does anything to malign Joe's work, she will take him to court. First, any honest critique of an artist's work would be protected by the First Amendment. Second, you cannot be sued for slandering the dead. Third, since Nathanial's allegations would be perfectly true, she would have no case.
    • Quotes

      Joan Castleman: I am a kingmaker.

    • Connections
      Featured in The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon: Glenn Close/Finn Wolfhard/Lauv (2018)
    • Soundtracks
      Everything's Just So Fine
      Performed by Dominic Halpin

      Written by Dominic Halpin

      Published by King of Cups Music (BMI)/Dominic Halpin (APRA)

      Courtesy of Noma Music & Capp Records Inc.

    User reviews252

    Review
    Top review
    6/10
    Kind of hard to buy
    What would it feel like to win a Nobel prize? That phone call in an early morning hour. Things that take place between then and your arrival to Stockholm. And after you arrive. What do you have to do? What will other recipients be like? How will you get along? The best thing about The Wife is that it lets you have a glimpse into that. Unfortunately, there's more to the film and I found the actual story somewhat problematic. It started showing cracks even before the big reveal. From small contrivances like Joe (Johnathan Price) appearing to be the only one given a photographer to follow him around to the younger version of him (Harry Lloyd) looking way too young to be a professor at an Ivy league school. As we learn more about him, that becomes even more questionable. The big reveal causes the movie to lose balance. As it probably should. Except, it doesn't necessarily happen for the right reasons. Maybe if they didn't go from point A to B and then straight to Z, it wouldn't have seemed so implausible. They give us a peek into somewhere around point G, but it does more harm than good. Without giving much away I will say that I found it hard to believe that Joan, as the great Glenn Close plays her, would never attempt to get published just because some embittered alumna scared her. Yes, it may have been harder for women to make it as writers, but they have done it - going way back to Jane Austen and the Bronte sisters. The filmmakers seem to imply that she just loved her husband that much. Except I found the young Joe so unlikable, that I just couldn't imagine loving that self absorbed, ungrateful shmuck. The old Joe is much more sympathetic. His constant munching on sweets reminded me of my husband. There's good chemistry between the elder actors. But it wasn't enough to sell the story for me.

    I feel kind of bad about it, but the character I found the most likable was not Joan, not Joe, not their their son (Max Irons) who spends the entire movie in various degrees of moping, but the supposedly sleazy biographer played by Christian Slater.
    helpful•31
    6
    • OlgaGorelik
    • Feb 13, 2019

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • September 28, 2018 (United Kingdom)
    • Countries of origin
      • United Kingdom
      • Sweden
      • United States
    • Official sites
      • Official Site - Silver Reel
      • Official Site - Tempo Productions
    • Languages
      • English
      • Swedish
    • Also known as
      • La esposa
    • Filming locations
      • Hutchesons' Hall, Ingram Street, Glasgow, Strathclyde, Scotland, UK
    • Production companies
      • Silver Reel
      • Meta Film
      • Anonymous Content
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $9,601,092
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $108,284
      • Aug 19, 2018
    • Gross worldwide
      • $19,978,189
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 39 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

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