TIFF 2021: The Story of My Wife
tiff 2021Following up not just decades of an established career but also her breakout 2017 Oscar-Nominated hit On Body and Soul, Ildikó Enyedi is back with her newest feature The Story of My Wife. Starting with a bet from a sea captain named Jacob (Gijs Naber) who claims he can marry any woman who walks into a bar, Jacob finds himself in a relationship with a woman named Lizzy (Léa Seydoux) and together they share various ups and downs. Screening as part of the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival, The Story of My Wife might have a shaky setup when it comes to morals and getting the audience to invest in the film's characters but, ultimately, finds a genuine connection that feels worthy and watchable.
The premise of the film immediately carries an offputting sense of questionable reasonings. For characters that the audience is supposed to like and want to empathise with on at least some level, the idea of having Jacob simply marry a random woman just for the sake of it is rather questionable. Not only does this add to the harmful mindset of men looking at women as objects but it also makes the connection between the characters unclear. Is Jacob really falling in love with Lizzy in their good moments or is he simply trying to accomplish what he has set out to do in a manipulative sense? The audience might have trouble at times understanding the answers to these questions, but the saving grace for the film in this regard ultimately are the performances from Gijs Naber and Léa Seydoux. Whether they are on the same page or at each other's throats, there is an instant chemistry and electricity between them that is undeniable and brooding. Naber brings an edge and seductive charm to his character that feels impossible to fight yet completely authentic, they take what is ultimately an average screenplay and elevate it to quite impressive levels at times.
This isn't to say the acting is the only good quality to the film, however, as the visuals are also stunning. The production design exudes personality and emotion with the film not being afraid to take aesthetic risks and embrace different emotions within the sets themselves. The cinematography from Marcell Rév is also rather stunning, which shouldn't be too much of a shock considering his previous works such as Assassination Nation and Malcolm & Marie. There is something truly artistic and beautiful that is created within the world of The Story of My Wife that is so casual that it is hard to put a finger on the exact pulse. Everything feels natural and authentic yet also clearly cinematic and inspired; it is a rare blend that is hard to pull off, but the film does so masterfully. This again works with the performances to give the film character and a personality that helps suck the audience in.
Sadly, for these elements, there is a great task ahead of them as they are tasked with engaging audiences for a rather bloated 169-minute runtime that clearly is too long. Not only does the story lack the substance needed to justify this runtime but the emotions within the film grow stale rather quickly. Somewhere within The Story of My Wife there is a focused 100-minute expression of love and drama but the film spreads itself so wide that it really hurts the final result. As mentioned, the screenplay from Ildikó Enyedi and Milán Füst is simply not that great. The film clearly deserves a level of poetry and craft when it comes to dialogue but the film rarely is given what it asks for here. The film has solid ideas but simply feels unable to get to them in an effective and clear manner which hearkens back to similar issues that plagued On Body and Soul.
Overall, The Story of My Wife is a film that clearly feels as if it should worship the players bringing the project to life in front of the camera more than anything. Even with its standout artistic craft, the film simply has too many fundamental misfires to stand on its own without the power of Gijs Naber and Léa Seydoux. With them however mixed with that technical craft, The Story of My Wife has enough to feel not just watchable but overall moving despite all of its flaws. While definitely not a masterpiece, it also is far from a disaster.
