“The Story of My Wife” (“A feleségem története,” original title) is a gorgeously-looking 3-hour romance epic about jealousy, amorous escapades, and toxic masculinity carried by an excellent performance by Léa Seydoux. But there is a catch within the sea of melancholy and isolation.
Not many directors set themselves up to direct a 3-hour or more epic in this day and age. However, the “golden ages” of Hollywood and the period of the modernization era had a boatload of these. “Ben-Hur” (1959) and “Gone with the Wind” (1939) are the most famous ones, both recognized as two of the best films of all time. One of my favorites is “Tess” (1979), which deals with injustice in unjustified religion versus modernity. What all these films have in common is that they have such beauty and atmosphere.
Nevertheless, there is the occasion in which a director goes overboard with his movie and ends up being a complete disaster, like Michael Cimino’s “Heaven’s Gate” (1980). That wasn’t only a critical failure but a Box Office flop as well. To direct a period piece epic, you must have control of your narrative and a polished structure. You can say that about most films; yet it is one thousand percent more vital for epics since you want the audience’s attention for over three hours. In between the success of “Gone with the Wind” and the laboriousness of “Heaven’s Gate” lies ldikó Enyedi’s recent feature, “The Story of My Wife,” which is based on the novel of the same name. It isn’t tedious piece of work, as there are many fascinating elements contained within its gigantic canvas; even so, it still has significant problems keeping the viewer’s curiosity.
Set in the 1920s, Captain Jakob Störr (Gijs Naber) bets an associate that he will marry the first woman who enters the restaurant they are in. Minutes after, destiny arrives in his life. Lizzy (Léa Seydoux), a gorgeous blonde woman, comes and, to complete the bet, he asks her to marry him in a week. And so, they marry, except Jakob must return to sail the seas and return in four months. There are new possibilities for them; nonetheless, he becomes suspicious of Lizzy and her possible infidelities as time passes. This story then becomes a game of chess, as both believe one is lying to the other. As one sails the seas, the other walks the streets with the bright lights.
It is loosely based on the legend of the “Flying Dutchman,” the fable in which a ghost ship is doomed to sail the seven seas forever, and it is interesting how Enyedi tackles this more romantically. There have been films based on that tale before; however, all of them tackle it differently. “The Story of My Wife” has a man, Captain Jakob Störr, gone by traveling the seven seas, only to return to his mainland after a couple of months, just like Davy Jones. Then you add the woman into the mix or the reason why the Captain leaves the land, in Seydoux’s Lizzy. He is crazy about her, and Lizzy seems to be interested in him—at least at first it looks like that.
As he leaves the seas for the woman he loves, he thinks he put his heart in the right place; yet he still has a feeling that she doesn’t love him back or is using him as a ruse. In the end, it is all about jealousy and toxic masculinity, the way men want to control every decision. It is indeed a maelstrom love versus inner angst or madness. But, if he doesn’t have it his way, he begins to lose control. Lizzy even brings another man into the narrative in Louis Garrel’s Dedin, who mirrors Jakob, except he is calm and sophisticated instead of going into complete instability.
Enyedi’s latest is an amusing watch in terms of the looks and atmosphere. From the lovely cinematography by Marcell Rév, who captures the beauty and darkness of both land and sea, to the production design from Imola Láng, whose work helps the audience travel back in time to the early 1920s. In those two aspects, it is one of the most visually pleasing I have seen this year. Most of the shots look like paintings. The camera is well-placed as it entangles the scenery with mesmerizing feelings, even the moments when you feel more disconnected. And if it isn’t already a lovely setting, the score by Ádám Balázs helps submerge us more into it.
There are also good performances by the leads Gijs Naber and Léa Seydoux, but the scene-stealer is Seydoux. Gijs has the looks for the role; he does best when his character is jealous as his facial expressions excel, albeit, for the romantic scenes, not so much. On the other hand, Seydoux’s minxy self strives all through the screen as we like and despise her character at the same time as we try to discover her true intentions. Both characters are doomed in their manner; their performances help to elevate their characters even as the script is weaker than it should be for such themes.
On the negative side of things, it feels like they forced way too much stuff onto the narrative when it comes to the story. Due to its pacing issues, its most enthralling section, the first hour, feels way longer than it is, and it starts to affect my viewing experience. You are immersed due to the looks and performances, but it still feels like a slight drag or a lengthy voyage on an empty ship. You are there watching as some moments go on forever and waiting for it to get to the point. When they do reach their thematic threshold, it becomes a fifty-fifty split between curiosity and disappointment, more so the former during its intertwining of isolation and doomed romance. At times it feels satirical. Cheesy lines, over-romantic expressions, and a route to escapist intimacy had me hooked.
The problem comes after that first hour; it starts to take itself very seriously, and that feeling of satire goes away. It may have been that I interpreted it differently than it wanted to. Thank goodness that the actors deliver great performances because the dialogue sometimes feels quite preposterous. There are moments of brilliance, and there are moments of completely baffling decisions. This had all the pieces set in their perfect place, yet it finds a way to lose your attention. “The Story of My Wife” comes as goes as the waters beneath the captain’s ship sail his soul goodbye. However, the emotion stays with you, even if it tests your patience to a vast degree via some undesirable choices in its screenplay.
This review of “The Story of My Wife” is written from its screening at the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).
