The Good Wife

(1986) The Good Wife DRAMA

Originally called "The Umbrella Woman" in Australia, a movie that plays like one of the worst soap operas ever made, starring Rachael Ward as Marge Hills the wife of real life husband of Bryan Brown, playing as her faithful husband Sonny Hill, the time is sometime during "The Great Depression" and chops trees down as a way of getting by, along with his younger brother Sugar Hills (Steven Vidler) who eventually gains consent in hitting puberty with Sonny's wife. Eventually, she becomes selfish and gets tired living the life she's always accustomed in doing, which is the cleaning and the cooking, that she's willing to get herself humiliated by some of the townspeople just so she can be with a much wealthier sleazeball who takes pride in sleeping around with other peoples wives and his name is Neville played by Sam Neil. The movie is so bad one can know whatever happens if s/he were to use the fast forward button while playing since the dialogue is so uninspiring and emotionally draining. Oh yeah, although the movie is given the "R" rating on my commercial copy, it's only given that rating because of it's subject matter since their is no nudity nor any offensive language, at least as far as I know anyway.

This movie has a lot of lessons in it. Its the type of film that you watch and get inspired by over and over. Simple yet majestic. Chilling. Filled with events that wont let you indifferent. If anyone knows a similar one, let me know

I saw the second half of this movie on cable starting from the point where Sam Neil came into town. Then the next day i caught the second half again. The story and the truth it brought to me was captivating. It brought many things to my mind. besides that it reminded me of many things it was all very atractivly shot with beutifull powerfull actors/actresses.

i noticed there is only one comment in 3 years about this film and feeling so strongly about it i worte this. I have noticed many have though nothing of this film. though it fake or a physcolical atempt at "showing us something" "being something" but i belive these peoples life expereance has not agreed with the content and for that reason they do not like it. It has seemed very real to me. Although the style of acting in many ways is more like stage acting and carried more by the writers ideas then by the "relisim" of the actors themselvs. But what true ideas the writer has shown us!

What a heart-rendering plot! Throughout the movie, I kept wondering if there was the faintest chance that any close-knit community under the stars harbored secrets similar to the plot...

Both brothers scruples, Marge's sexual appetite and the manner in which the town takes everything in step...

It is sickeningly-refreshing to see this small town's women enjoy their sexuality as much as they do...

To think all it takes is one male catalyst (Sam Neill's character, Neville) to turn women loose! Every guy's fantasy role...

How am I to imagine the emotional toll this movie shoot took both on Rachel Ward and Bryan Brown (married to each other)?...

Wow!

After seeing this movie, I was prompted to write and comment, once again, about the roles that husbands are afforded in almost every movie w/ a love triangle. This film offers a stark illustration of this fact. For the sake of the story, we are asked to suspend disbelief and watch as every husband portrayed in the film, is cuckolded- & offers no instance of protest, or resistance. So let me get this straight- the " GOOD WIFE" in the film, is a lustful, amoral character- who presumably destroys her marriage to pursue a worthless cad. By itself, this isn't an unbelievable tale. My pet peeve however, is how the women's spouses are portrayed, in movies of this sort. The B. Brown character not only doesn't get angry, he offers his wife to his brother, excuses her behavior w/ the barman, and willingly, immediately, and w/out reservation, offers "instant forgiveness" to his cheating wife- another predictable staple for this character. The other husband in the movie who catches his wife w/ another man, reacts the same way. In other words, every husband is weak, ineffectual & too inadequate, to show anger, towards their straying wives! No, the women are all capable of destructive actions, but the husbands?- their reaction to these actions, is reserved, measured, & minimal at best. This character is essential to filmmakers, but is so prevalent, that it's becoming a cliché' within itself! The first film that actually offers a sympathetic, strong portrayal of a betrayed man, which by the way is the usual portrayal given to betrayed wives, will be a revelation. An actual male character who doesn't whine & weakly accepts his wife's cheating. One who decides that SHE is not worthy of him- would be a first! Instead we are faced w/ the same character- gutless, weak, no balls, and willing to accept any & all humiliations, for the sake of fantasy. By no means am I one of these right-wing, "defenders of families" freaks- but it's not hard to see that the portrayal of husbands in these movies, would give one pause. What reality are these filmmakers living in- & maybe, just once, they'll join ours!