THE WIFE is based on the novel of the same title by Meg Wolitzer, and stars Glenn Close as Joan Castleman, the very supportive wife to her successful author husband, Professor Joe Castleman (Jonathan Pryce). Joan walks with Joe every step of the way in their marriage and his writing career. Unfortunately, Joe's success makes him extremely arrogant and not always a faithful husband. When Joe is honored with the Nobel Prize, Joan's resentment shows. Many women probably will identify with Joan.
As always, Glenn Close's performance is exceptional. Her real life daughter, Annie Starke, plays a young Joan during her college years. Annie also gives a solid performance, along with the rest of the cast.
THE WIFE is an intellectual drama. The official Web site is http://sonyclassics.com/thewife/. The movie is currently playing in theatres.
OPERATION FINALE provides an opportunity for viewers to observe some events that happened after the Jewish Holocaust (1933-1945). Ben Kingsley plays Adolf Eichmann, a former SS officer now residing in Argentina. Israeli spies from the Mossad--Israel's intelligence agency--discover his whereabouts and capture him in 1960. Their goal is to have Eichmann testify to his crimes in a court of law. This is significant because others like Eichmann, including Adolf Hitler, committed suicide and never received punishment for their wrongdoing.
It is gratifying seeing someone brought to justice after having caused and been responsible for the suffering of millions of people. Eichmann's capture by Holocaust survivors does not bring back the many individuals who lost their lives, but does offer a bit of closure for the families whose loved ones were unjustly tortured and exterminated. OPERATION FINALE features a talented cast and is successful in allowing the audience to feel relief that someone admitted his atrocities and will now endure the effect of them.
