Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Mild
- claustrophobic
- searing
- melancholic
- serious movie night
- world cinema night
What critics said
Critics generally praised the film’s searing marital drama and Ronit Elkabetz’s powerful central performance.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Viviane is pressured by her husband and brothers to remain married despite her longing to be loved and free.
Viviane’s observance of strict Moroccan traditions conflicts with her desire for autonomy and a different future.
The marital crisis unfolds during the three days preceding Shabbat, intensifying the sense of inevitability and confinement.
Ronit Elkabetz’s portrayal of Viviane centers rage, fear, and emotional exhaustion within the family home.
Films like To Take A Wife, and why
Scenes from a Marriage
intimate marital breakdown, constrained domestic life, and emotionally charged interpersonal conflict
The Piano
tradition versus personal freedom within a suffocating marriage, rendered as an intense chamber drama
A Woman Under the Influence
female-centered domestic drama exploring cultural expectations, repression, and the desire for autonomy
Movie Details
- Directors
- Ronit Elkabetz, Shlomi Elkabetz
- Release Date
- 2004-06-01
- Runtime
- 97 min
- Rating
- 6.4 / 10 (17)
Cast
- Ronit Elkabetz
- Simon Abkarian
- Gilbert Melki
- Sulika Kadosh
- Dalia Beger
- Kobi Regev
- Omer Moshkovitz
- Yam Eitan
- Valérie Zarrouk
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Chai Flicks
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is To Take A Wife about?
- Over three tense days in Haifa, a mother’s fight for love and freedom collides with the traditions determined to keep her marriage intact.
- What is To Take A Wife like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of To Take A Wife as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is To Take A Wife violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in To Take A Wife as mild.
- What did critics think of To Take A Wife?
- Critics generally praised the film’s searing marital drama and Ronit Elkabetz’s powerful central performance.
- Which films are like To Take A Wife?
- Films with a similar feel include Scenes from a Marriage, The Piano, and A Woman Under the Influence.
- How long is To Take A Wife?
- To Take A Wife runs 97 minutes.
- Where can I watch To Take A Wife?
- In United States, To Take A Wife streams on Chai Flicks.
