"It will always help if each partner asks what way to live is the best way to bring alive the life of the other partner."
-- Seikan Hasegawa Roshi
Claire (Lena Olin) is the middle-aged wife of the famous painter Richard Smythson (Bruce Dern). Early in their marriage, she, too, was a painter whose creations signaled that one day she would also savor the praise of critics and the public. But she put aside her own work to take on all the burdensome chores and responsibilities of Richard's career. Now this happy couple is thrown for a loop when he is diagnosed with dementia. This shocking news comes while he is preparing a new exhibition of his latest works.
Lena Olin puts in a very fine performance as a wife who suddenly finds herself weighed down by all that she has to be as a caregiver. It is especially painful to witness the deterioration of his mind and his scary mood swings. Claire tries to keep his illness a secret but that proves be very difficult given all the publicity around his exhibit. She also tries to bring him together with his estranged daughter and grandson.
Tom Dolby, the writer and director of The Artist's Wife, speaks of the central role of Claire:
"For me, the inspiration was looking at the experience of a middle-aged woman as she experiences this sort of third act of life and the things that happen and how we have no control over what life serves us, what cards we're dealt. We do have the choice of how to play them, and I think that's very much what Claire is coming to terms with."
Given the stress and disappointments of Claire's midlife crisis, audiences will be satisfied with the surprise ending. We certainly were.