Belfast Telegraph

The Wife is at cinemas now

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Six — that’s how many times Glenn Close has missed out on winning an Oscar. But maybe with The Wife, based on the novel of the same name by Meg Wolitzer, the Connecticu­t-born actress will finally get the recognitio­n she deserves.

The drama, directed by Bjorn Runge, sees a captivatin­g Close (71) play Joan, the apparently perfect wife of a great American novelist.

It’s notable how much Hollywood, and the world, has changed since the film was first shown at the Toronto Film Festival last September, what with the allegation­s against Harvey Weinstein and the Me Too movement that followed.

“Initially, I think we represente­d why Me Too was necessary, because it took 14 years for a movie called The Wife to be made, written by two women and produced by women,” reflects Close, whose first film role was the 1982 comedy-drama The World According To Garp.

“But now, it represents what I hope will be many more projects in the future.”

The Wife follows the couple as they travel to Stockholm, where the self-effacing Joan dutifully stands by Joe (Jonathan Pryce) as he’s awarded the Nobel prize.

Through telling flashbacks, we see how ambitious young Joan (played by Close’s own daughter, 30-year-old Annie Starke) was, before she became a hardened wife with a measured exterior.

Close has been applauded not only for her incredible stillness in the role, but also her portrayal of Joan losing control of her emotions as she starts to question her life choices.

How does she feel about people calling the performanc­e a career high?

“I am astounded,” she confides. “This was another independen­t film that I did, and it was a wonderful, wonderful process.

“I get great joy out of the process — what happens afterwards, I have no control over. I pick stories very, very subjective­ly.

“They say that it’s the high of the career... what does that mean, that it’s all downhill from now?”

But she’s clearly proud of the role. “At this point in my career, to have a high is fantastic,” she says.

Many of Close’s most memorable characters have been villainous — Cruella de Vil in 101 Dalmatians, bunny-boiler Alex Forrest in Fatal Attraction and a manipulati­ve widow in Dangerous Liaisons.

Asked what appeals to her when she reads a script, she replies: “I’ve played a num- ber of women that people say, ‘She’s just a bitch’.

“I’m interested in those kinds of characters because I feel that we all exist in a grey world — we don’t exist in a black-and-white world, though a lot of people like to make us think that we do.

“It’s the grey areas — what’s underneath — that creates the ‘why’ of somebody’s behaviour. That is fascinatin­g to me.”

Back to the Me Too movement, and the question of whether change is actually happening, or whether it’s just a conversati­on about a change, is put to Close.

“I think it’s a heightened conversati­on,” she says. “Things are happening in the courts, and that ultimately, on certain levels, is where permanent change comes.

“What’s really heartening to me is the level of awareness that the Me Too movement is creating about what is not acceptable any more.

“It brings up a very, very complex set of questions about how you deal with behaviour. How do you compare someone’s behaviour with someone else’s?

“What will become the norm? We don’t know that yet. And if it’s the tipping point, I don’t know. We’ve had these points before where people hoped it was the tipping point. I think it’s an internal battle.”

She calls herself “a quiet fighter” who doesn’t feel comfortabl­e getting up on a soap box.

“There’s certain things that I think are important to show up for if you possibly can,” Close says.

“I went door-to-door with my sister about a woman who was running for congressio­nal out of Montana. “It’s a tricky situation when you’re perceived as a celebrity and somehow people have tried to take your voice away because you’re a celebrity, and they try to say that everyone thinks a certain way. “I got very disillusio­ned by politics, and now it’s hard to not continue that.

“I wasn’t showing up for political things the way I did at one point after my daughter was born, but it’s tremendous­ly important.

“I just want to be totally authentic in however I express myself.”

Close certainly isn’t keen on the term ‘celebrity’.

“In our country, there’s a worship of them that is just so over the top,” she insists.

“I think I’ve gotten my celebrity because I’ve done work consistent­ly over 42 years that people have been interested in.

“When I started, the red carpet was just something you walked over.

“When I look back at pictures of what I wore for the opening of The World According To Garp, it was my own clothes out of my closet. It’s totally changed.”

Close remains wonderfull­y un-divalike, solidified by her suggestion for what everyone should wear on the red carpet — black pyjamas.

“Why not?” she asks. “Be comfortabl­e. Don’t wear fiveinch heels and be in absolute screaming agony by the time you’re at the end of the carpet.”

She likes to imagine there will be a time when she doesn’t act — there are other things she’d like to do, like writing — but she always gets “seduced by stories”.

“I love what I do — I’m still very, very intrigued and inspired,” she says.

“But I have to say, I have had very few times to just go on vacation. It’s kind of pathetic.”

Regardless of what Close decides to do next, she agrees the industry is less cruel than it used to be to older women.

And she, for one, is embracing the ageing process.

“I’m a very, very, very late bloomer,” Close says, “so, I’m having a very good time at this time in my life.”

 ??  ?? Late bloomer: Glenn Close, also inset, has been nominated for an Oscar six times without success, but that could change with new film The Wife
Late bloomer: Glenn Close, also inset, has been nominated for an Oscar six times without success, but that could change with new film The Wife
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