Cinema St. Louis (CSL)

The Artist's Wife with The Spiritual Exercises

Expired November 23, 2020 5:59 AM
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Claire (Lena Olin) lives a domestic life in the Hamptons as the wife of celebrated artist Richard Smythson (Bruce Dern). Once a promising painter herself, Claire now lives in the shadow of her husband’s illustrious career. While preparing work for his final show, Richard’s moods become increasingly erratic, and he is diagnosed with dementia. As his memory and behavior deteriorate, she shields his condition from the art community while trying to reconnect him with his estranged daughter and grandson from a previous marriage. Challenged by the loss of her world as she knew it, Claire must now decide whether to stand with Richard on the sidelines or step into the spotlight herself. Variety writes: “Olin subtly expresses an impressively diverse array of complex and often contradictory emotions as Claire is driven alternately by her love and empathy as a faithful spouse. Her scenes opposite Dern crackle with intensity, whether their characters are interacting at the top of their lungs or enjoying rare moments of quiet, tender intimacy. For his part, Dern — giving easily his best performance since his Oscar-nominated turn in ‘Nebraska’ — manages the difficult feat of stopping well short of going completely over the top in a role that requires carefully calibrated measures of excess to achieve maximum impact.”


Sponsored by Ted Wight, Dielmann Sotheby's International Realty.

  • Year
    2019
  • Runtime
    94 minutes
  • Language
    English
  • Country
    U.S.
  • Director
    Tom Dolby