Claire Smythson, wife of the renowned abstract artist Richard Smythson, is plunged into a late-life crisis when her husband is diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease and is in danger of not completing the paintings for his final show.... (Full plot summary below)
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Claire Smythson, wife of the renowned abstract artist Richard Smythson, is plunged into a late-life crisis when her husband is diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease and is in danger of not completing the paintings for his final show.
Leave your thoughts about The Artist's Wife.
| San Francisco ChronicleMick LaSalleDolby provides Dern with a chance to be cranky and vicious, but what else is new? The revelation here is Lena Olin, who gets her best role in years as the artist’s second wife, Claire, an artist in her own right who gave it all up to make a home with and for a demanding husband. |
| VarietyJoe LeydonIt’s entirely possible that The Artist’s Wife would have hit the same pitch-perfect notes had it been set during a long hot summer. But the wintery ambiance enhanced by Ryan Earl Parker’s evocative cinematography feels altogether appropriate for a story about one life winding down, and another on the verge of a restorative spring. |
| The GuardianCath ClarkeBrilliantly acted but never entirely credible and not quite the force for feminism it wants to be. |
| EmpireBeth WebbLacking the boldness of originality and substantial character development, The Artist’s Wife nonetheless showcases Olin’s best performance in years and a brittle brilliance from Dern. |
| Los Angeles TimesGary GoldsteinA sensitive turn by Olin combined with the script’s nicely delineated take on her long-suffering, creatively thwarted lead character, makes the film, set mainly in Long Island’s tony East Hampton, an absorbing, at times moving look at a woman caught between her own artistic and emotional desires and her devotion to a man who doesn’t seem to deserve her. |
| Movie NationRoger MooreThis is more worth seeing for Olin and Dern’s tetchy and touching interactions, portraying a marriage of devotion and decay. Every filmmaker who preaches that “Casting is everything,” or 90 percent of everything, isn’t exaggerating. The Artist’s Wife proves it. |
| The New YorkerAnthony LaneIf only the style of The Artist’s Wife could scald with equal intent. Alas, it opts for plangency, with a musical score applied like a gentle balm, and a plot that hungers for healing—absurdly so, given the incurable nature of Richard’s plight. |
| The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Barry HertzLike an exhausted artist facing a blank canvas, or an underwhelmed film critic staring at a blank screen, The Artist’s Wife doesn’t have much to say but tosses something on the screen regardless, hoping it will stick. |
| The Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckDespite its value in providing superb starring turns by Lena Olin and Bruce Dern, the film never manages to overcome its air of familiarity. |
| New York PostJohnny OleksinskiThe Artist’s Wife can, at times, come off as a collage of other, better movies. |
