Maybe
internet dating isn’t such a bad idea after all. An investment banker met his new wife the old
fashioned way—in a bar. However, she
might not be exactly who he thinks she is in Justin Reichman’s A Wife Alone (trailer here), which screens
during the 2013 Brooklyn Film Festival.
Not
so long ago, Jane was a prostitute, who had a disastrous gig with Steve. She therefore ought to be shocked when her
dopey new husband Park brings her to spend the day with his godfather-business
partner, the very same Steve, and the older man’s highly strung wife, Holly. Jane seems to take it all in stride
though. With Steve openly leering at
Jane and Park quietly nursing his investment-related resentments with his
mentor, it should be quite a fun outing for all involved.
Clocking-in
just under seventy minutes, Wife is a
little oddball of a feature. Reichman
creates an effective hothouse atmosphere, strongly abetted by Tal Lazar’s moody
cinematography. The film’s resulting vibe
evokes some of the indie-forerunning studio films of the 1970’s, which is
definitely cool. Unfortunately, the
narrative is not nearly as clever as everyone evidently thought it was. Audience members will constantly find
themselves way ahead of the film, waiting for it to catch up to them. Needless to say, it works better the other
way around.
The
cast is also a rather strange assembly of character actors. Sean Patrick Reilly is terrific as the sleazy
Steve (bringing to mind Steve Dallas from the old Bloom County comic strip).
Genevieve Hudson-Price’s Jane is much more problematic, lacking a
comparable femme fatale presence. In contrast,
Alesandra Assante (daughter of Armand) lights up the screen as Jane’s close
lesbian “associate” Barbs. Frankly, Wife might have worked better if they
had exchanged roles.
