The Young Wife

Despite what everyone says, weddings aren’t really about the bride and groom. They’re about the community surrounding them, parents and siblings and friends and coworkers and cousins they haven’t seen in three years who are stuck in traffic and won’t make it in time for the happy hour. “The Young Wife” understands this. 

The film, which takes place over a single day, is told from the perspective of Celestina (Kiersey Clemons), the “young wife” of the title. Celestina is hosting a party that definitely isn’t a wedding (although it is) at her demanding “Maman’s” (Sheryl Lee Ralph) country retreat in a flooded marsh. And all her friends and family—even the ones she’s not excited to see—will be there. 

Watching “The Young Wife” is an immersive, often overwhelming experience, a whirlwind of well-meaning but stressful characters mobbing the camera and speaking at such an anxiety-inducing speed that you forget to breathe for a second. (It’s a lot like how I remember my own wedding, actually.) Luckily, writer-director Tayarisha Poe inserts literal meditation breaks into the film, reminding us to breathe in and out. 

When we finally get to the wedding portion of this not-a-wedding, the tone shifts from nerve-shredding to blissful, as it does every time River (Leon Bridges), Celestina’s soon-to-be husband, enters the frame. River is a grounding force for Celestina, and their connection in the film is genuinely lovely. You’re rooting for these two to make it, which goes a long way toward staying invested in the minimal storyline. 

Celeste is a wonderfully complex character: She’s a fully rounded person with hopes and fears and a past and a future, who just quit her job at an evil corporation and resents how much money controls her life. She doesn’t have any specific dreams right now, but that’s because she needs some time (and some quiet) to figure things out. Talking to Cookie (Judith Light), River’s smart-mouthed stoner grandmother, helps; to be honest, so does the weed. Most of the ensemble seems shallow by comparison—although, to be fair, there are too many of them here to explore most of them in much depth.

More care is put into the characters’ world. Celestina is smart and sees through the bullshit that surrounds her; this is reflected in the heightened absurdity of the shows that blare on a small TV in the background throughout the film. Surreal touches are sprinkled throughout the film—at one point, the characters all freeze except for poor, beleaguered Celestina, who takes the opportunity to catch up on some dishes. These combine with a theatrical structure to give the proceedings an air of unreality, reflecting our protagonist’s frayed emotional state.