In this second feature by writer/actor/director Tom Noonan, the secluded comfort of two therapists' new-age, friendly country home is unexpectedly invaded by a troubled client (Wallace Shawn) and his uninhibited wife one winter night. What begins as an informal counseling session quickly devolves into explosive confrontations, revealing each of its four characters to be almost as uncomfortable with each other as they are within their own skins. Noonan nicely plays the guru-like leader, whose actions most often resemble those of an entomologist examining a new species, and his film creates an appropriately intimate atmosphere for characters only superficially capable of intimacy. The very definition of a claustrophobic movie, The Wife is an uncomfortable character study that examines the thin line between self-discovery and isolating onanism.