Tchaikovsky's Wife

Alyona Mikhailova is really quite good here as the all-but-obsessed "Antontina"" who takes a shine to the already acclaimed, but not especially wealthy, Russian composer Pyotr Tchaikovsky (Odin Lund Biron). She manages to use her influential friends to get her into his conservatoire but though a competent pianist, struggles to make the grade or to pay the 50 roubles per month fee! Her infatuation encourages her to propose marriage to him. He politely declines, but she perseveres and in the end he opts for a companionship style of relationship. Initially that works, but gradually her love wants to manifest itself in something more physical and that repels him. Repels him to the extent that he leaves her and seeks a divorce. She fights this and with poverty and extreme emotional loneliness looming we follow her life through to it's rather sad conclusion during which, despite having three children with her lawyer lover "Shlykov" (Vladimir Mishukov), she never fails in her love. History tells us a little of the man's peccadilloes, and indeed as the film progresses we soon see that his "preferred" company is of much more importance to him that his marriage. That drama plays out in an uncomfortable to watch series of scenarios that cannot help to elicit a great degree of sympathy for a lady caught up in something that neither can control. The films looks great capturing the imagery, poverty and aspirations of late 19th century Imperial Russia but it's a really slow burn and I am afraid I just didn't really ever quite understand why she was quite to pathologically besotted with a man who, to his credit, was clear from the outset that he didn't want a marriage at all, and that if he did it was unlikely to offer more than a "brotherly" love. I needed to know just a little more of what made her tick and to be honest, I also needed a bit more meat on the bones of his life too. There's also a distinct paucity of his music which rather reduced this to the status of a stylishly photographed melodrama of family discord that really underdelivered on the characterisation front. Mikhailova does well though, her diminishing grasp on sanity and reality being well depicted and in all this is worth a watch. Just a little disappointing.

Just Got out of a Screening of Tchaikovskys' Wife.

🙇 In my Lifetime, It's One the Greatest Films Ever Made. Such a Flawless Watch.

(This is a Review of the Film)

• 💗 Alyona Mikhaylovas Performance was Outstanding.

• 🌓 The Lighting And Contrast was so Perfect, it was Literally Perfection in Lighting, so many of the Scenes. It was Constantly Beautiful to watch. The Darkness with the Light 🌓

• 🎬 The Direction Was Masterful. Every Moment did what was needed of it and Every Performance performed exactly how it should.

• 🎭The Symbolic Moments During Scenes were Excellent Additions.

• 💃The Beautiful Costume Design was in Absolute Harmony with the Film.

• 🎥 Also, the Cinematography was Constantly Gorgeous to Watch. That Arri Alexa LF Camera is Crisp.(Plus you add the Stunning Costume Design and Perfection in Lighting and it was just.... Mwah👌

There's SO MANY Stunning Shots, I'll name 2 which are both in the Same Scene -

1. 👠 Just shortly after the Train ride to St. Petersburg, Antonina and Tchaikovsky are Walking Slowly through the Street and the Beautiful Bright Backdrop of the City is Behind Them and the Streets are Bustling and Antonina and Tchaikovsky look Great in their Outfits.

2. 💃Is in the Same Scene, it's the Wide Shot of Antonina and Tchaikovsky with his Associates and Antonina looks Stunning in the Red Outfit.

🎥 I Love Watching Different Shooting Styles and The Technical Aspects of Filmaking.

• 📟 Home Video Style(BlackBerry)
• 🔱 Heavy Visual Effects, Blue Screen and CGI Heavy Films(Aquaman 2, Antman 3)
• 🦇 Other Stunningly Shot Films(The Batman 2022, The Revenant)
• 🎨 Super Artistic Visions(Poor Things, The Peasants)

• 🎥💃🎬📜 🎨🎭 And then We Have Tchaikovskys' Wife, which is Another Singular Vision within Filmaking(Yes, there are Some Visual Effects). It's just Constantly Beautiful To Watch with the Cinematography Coupled with the Costume Design. On top of that The Screenplay, Artistic Flourishes and Direction Was Impeccable.

So Who's Fault Was it in all of this?

🤷 Was it Antoninas Fault? -

• 😬 She Really Didn't Know What She was Getting herself into did She? Even though she was Clearly Told both Plain And Clearly, as well as Subtly throughout so many Moments.

• 💭 Did she consciously delude herself? Or was She that Naive?

• 💘 Did her Love for Him Blind her?

• 🤔 Or did She Consciously Let her Love Blind Her?

• 🚫 She Was Plainly Told by him, that he Would Not Love her as her Lover, but as her Brother. Did she not Understand That? Or again, did the Love Just Blind her that Badly?

🤷 Was it Tchaikovskys Fault? -

• 🤑 And what about him? He knew it was a Mistake from the Get Go, and he turned her down....... But then of course, he thought about that Money she offered him 💰 and what he could do and fix with that Money, as he was in a dire Situation.

👉👈 It's Both of Their Fault in my Opinion. They Should Never Ever have Been a Couple.

I Love the Direction of this Film -

1. 😣 Antoninas Decline was Bad. She went from Bright and Lovely to Damper, then Damper then Dimly Lit, then Absolute Darkness and then Eventually Absolute Destruction. It was Terrible to see. And you can't help but think "She Could of Avoided all of this, just Simply by Choosing a Different Man". She just never Processed within her mind, that no matter what she did, no matter how Sexy she Made Herself, No Matter How Good She Looked, it was Pointless. Tchaikovskys Desires aren't towards Women.

2. 🎹 The Scene when the Servant Woman is Accused of stealing the Money and The Screaming and Madness going on around Tchaikovsky and Tchaikovsky Sits down and Gently Plays the Piano, which Soothes him, but when his Wife touches his shoulder, it interrupts him and he leaves the room, again further showing that sigh......he doesn't Love Nor even Care about this Woman, like at all. It was Saddening.

3. ⚡ The Scene when Antonina is with Tchaikovskys Sister and Kids are there. And Tchaikovskys Sister explains again Plainly to Antonina, that Tchaikovskys Desires are towards Men. And then The Thunder Goes off ⚡ Signifying that This Truly is the Case Antonina, you must Process this(lol, I'm really getting into this because the Actress Alyona Mikhaylova puts in such a Performance, she Displayed what Seemed to be Sheer Naivety, it was Rough to watch) And then immediately right after that, the Fishbowl Symbology, that she is Married to a Man of Great Fame in Russia. Im sure many People Knew the Deal(which is actually Displayed multiple times throughout the film), and that Their Relationship Together was Under The Watchful Eye.

4. 💰 The Lawyers and the Money Men, they added and Performed Perfectly within the Film, that one Particular Short Lawyer with the Snarky Dialogue Towards Antonina Showed Just How Preposterous the Whole Situation was, and that Antonina needed to get out of it immediately, even by Underhanded Means.

• 🎨 I Also Loved so Many of the Artistic Choices the Writer and Director made within this film, in Particular -

• 🚂 The Train Station one Take Scene, with Antonina waiting for Tchaikovsky to come Back which we visibly see it was Sunny 🌞 when she see him off onto the Train and in the one take, she goes and sits down and then goes back onto the Platform, we visibly see that it is now Raining as she asks For Tchaikovsky.

• 💃The Scene when Antonina "Meets" Tchaikovsky after a Performance and "Speaks" with him after some Time. The Dialogue and from what I saw the Subtle Fierceness and Intensity in Emotion between the Two was so Strong in that Scene. The Lead up and Pace and Build to that Particular Scene was absolutely Perfect. 👌And again the Artistic Choice that Demonstrates that Antonina is Delving Deeper and Deeper into Madness.

• 😊 The "Dream" Scene in that Beautiful Forest with a Tchaikovsky who seemed to Have Actual Affection Towards Antonina. So many Nuances Between Antonina and Tchaikovsky in that Scene and they also had "Their Offspring" there too. I didn't quite Catch all of the Nuances but I will Watch another Screening of this Film when I can.

• 👯📰 The Ending Dance Sequence, as we see Antoninas Brain in Complete and Utter Chaos in the Abyss.

Overall, this is one of the Greatest Films Ever Made Across the Entire Spectrum of Cinema.

The movie is of very good quality and highly satisfying to watch.

It offers a deep study of the female character and her life, portraying her with a great deal of sympathy. But it also carries a disappointing tone of being an homosexual and its place in society. Being gay is almost depicted as something that prevents one from experiencing the true beauty of a woman. Is this the director's issue as well? He presents Antonina in such a beautifully crafted way-so fragile, yet so broken and sad-because she becomes part of a hostile environment. So much attention goes to her and so emotionally charged scenes depicted that only a deeply feeling person can truly process and bring to the screen. Yet the story is about a waste of all of that beauty filled with sadness and dissatisfaction.

Tchaikovsky used her to protect himself from accusations, and she used him to stay close to his talent, as she admitted it was difficult to be a female musician. There was something deeply sad about the fact that he couldn't satisfy her physical desires and suffered because of it. At the same time, she was too young, naive, and obsessed to accept a life without him.

A personal note: I didn't like seeing modern musicians in the movie. It made it feel less like a true work of art and more like a casual gathering, which ruined the atmosphere.

Ugh ... disappointment of the last few years ... despite some very beautiful cinematographic ideas ... the script is despicable : this movie is a disguised propaganda against homosexuality ... I nearly threw up towards the ending ... I'm still so upset ... They highjacked Tchaikovsky's tragic marriage story and packaged it up as a costume drama ... but clearly to make a picture of the composer and other homosexual men as mean opportunistic vilains ... you don't learn anything about him nor her nor about the historical circumstances etc. .... There's no music either ... It's a pitiful recount how a woman desperately tries to have sex with a man who is clearly not into it AND who told her so from the very beginning: marriage yes but only as a brother!

In the movie they even make allusions that it's not normal if a man doesn't want to shag a woman if he sees her naked .... how on earth did this get selected in Cannes is beyond my comprehension...

Tchaikovsky's Wife is a period piece with masterful narrative. First and foremost this is not a pure fiction, based on archival documents on the life of Tchaikovsky in 1870s. The director puts a mere focus on composer's wife whose transformation goes from devoted lover to blind obsession and self destruction. This never-chosen narrative has so many side plots enriching the film enormously. Marriage in its society imposed form can be an unnatural act with disastrous consequences as we put as witnesses. Tchaikovsky's Wife is a rare gem, a true masterpiece. Acting, cinematography, music and period details are exquisite. Must see.