Department of Mass Communication & Journalism

Faculty of Security and Strategic Studies (FSSS)

Bangladesh University of Professionals (BUP)

Course Title: Gender, Identity and Media (MCJ5209)

Topic:

Film Analysis of “The Wife” & “Chokher Bali”

Submitted to
Dr. Umme Busra Fateha Sultana
Associate Professor
Chairman, Department of Women and Gender Studies
University of Dhaka

Submitted by
Salahuddin Ahmed
Roll: 2143371028
 Analysis of the film “ The Wife”

Joseph and Joan Castleman’s marriage of almost four decades is put to the test when Joan
questions the personal and professional sacrifices she has made for her husband .

Joan (Glenn Close) and Joseph Castleman (Jonathan Pryce) get the surprise of their lives
when he is chosen to receive the Nobel prize for Literature. Over the course of nearly
forty years, they have grown to complement each other, appearing to be a loving couple,
and parents to their two children. But when they fly over to Stockholm for the prestigious
event, Joan begins to reminisce about the time she met Joe as a professor of literature in
1950, and how they fell in love. Egged on by Nathanial Bone (Christian Slater ), who
seeks to write Joseph’s biography, she ponders the nature of their relationship and what
she’s had to give up making their marriage work.

Although it appears to have a simplistic plot at its core, ‘The Wife ’ is a showcase in
peeling off the narrative layers to get there. Director Bjorn Runge also displays how
framing can tell an entire story by giving audiences the chance to read emotions from the
faces of his brilliant cast. This is particularly applicable to Glenn Close. There are several
instances as the camera focuses on her visage, especially when Joan Castleman
contemplates the decisions she made, and you can practically see the complex series of
thoughts running in her head. Little wonder that Close has been nominated and won
numerous awards for this incredible performance. Christian Slater is surprisingly sneaky
as Nathanial Bone, who is a catalyst to the events that unfold. Jonathan Pryce also puts in
a class act, but there’s only so much for him to do as ‘the husband’.

Jane Anderson’s screenplay intentionally orchestrates this as she puts the limelight on the
female spirit. ‘The Wife’ is an examination of the adage – behind every great man,
there’s a great woman. Even though the plot plays out as expected and sometimes gets
too calculated, one can begin a dialogue on the reasons why the couple took certain
decisions. It’s a timely discussion indeed, and if that’s not enticing enough, the
masterclass on acting by Glenn Close will certainly convince you to watch ‘The Wife.
 Analysis of the film“Chokher Bali”

The story follows Binodini (Rai), a beautiful young woman, who, upon being rejected by
two wealthy best friends for marriage, Mahendra (Chaterjee) and Behari (Raychaudhuri)
marries someone else. When her husband dies after one year she remains a widow,
becoming an outcast in respectable Indian society. She does not remarry and is not
allowed any male company, must keep a strict dietary regime without meat or fish, and,
briefly, becomes a non-person whose only purpose in life remains to serve others to the
best of her ability. It is something that Binodini, as handsome, vibrant, intelligent and
striking as she is, has trouble accepting.

By a quirk of fate, she is brought back into the home of Mahendra who is now married to
Asha (Sen), a gloriously beautiful, but very young and completely innocent, spoiled,
uneducated girl. As soon as they meet the two women strike an alliance that makes them
practically inseparable, though each one dutifully respects the c odes of her own social
functions.

Ghosh, however, manages to insinuate almost imperceptibly through the patterns of a

stiff, unbending society, which leaves little opening for digression, a troubled
relationship between Binodini, Asha, her hedonist husband - and egotist who lives for
pleasure and the advantages of his wealth and Behari, the best friend who is an idealist
who believes in the life of plants and political involvement Gradually the roles within
this quartet change, particularly that of the women, change, as Binodini’s subdued
character comes out to assert itself while Asha's spoiled innocence is crushed by evidence
she had refused to see.
Combining several dramatic plotlines which develop on parallel lines but keeping them
all on a small fire and integrated into the family chronicle, Ghosh very much keeps in
mind that it is sensuality rather than love which repeatedly plays the main role in
relationships here. There is no doubt that Binodini is motivated first and foremost by her
wish to end her crippling widow status, and that the men are ultimately much weaker and
less resolute than she can be.

Rai’s masterful control over her part, which runs from meek devotion to outright
rebellion, is spot on, making for a deeply felt and moving performance. Sen’s Asha is not
far behind.

Ghosh keeps his characters indoors most of the time, especially before the third act,
which takes place in the holy sites of Benares. Yet he still manages to bring into focus
the political turbulence, the animosity towards the British and the structure of the
hierarchy inside an Indian family, where a widowed mother can rule with an iron fist over
her household, through a crafty combination of constant whining and veiled threats.