this familiar but affecting drama spends less time on depicting the systematic lessening of an exceptional intellect and focuses more on the psychic toll taken on a loyal life partner whose selflessness is running on empty
the low stakes drama is lifted by intimate character work from Bruce Dern and Lena Olin; The story's supporting threads do not help this softness of narrative; a film that's fluent but trite, watchable but uninvolving
terrific performances help overcome narrative deficiencies; Despite its narrative opacity, "The Artist's Wife" nevertheless has its affecting moments, mainly thanks to its superb leading players
lacking the boldness of originality and substantial character development, "The Artist's Wife" nonetheless showcases Lena Olin's best performance in years and a brittle brilliance from Bruce Dern
director Tom Dolby's character study assembles a potentially interesting germ of an idea and a tremendous amount of talent and then does... almost absolutely nothing
a satisfying if uneven portrait of a marriage; 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
by Rafer Guzman [Newsday ]
