I usually try not to include spoilers in my reviews, but I feel I have to here in order to give an honest appraisal.
Marta and Stig both are violinists in an orchestra. They join the orchestra at the same time, then start dating, get married, and have a child. Throughout, Marta is the stronger of the two. Stig is, frankly, rather whiny. He comes across as selfish and moody. He also is ambitious, but he lacks the talent to match his ambitions, a mismatch which seems to generate in him a sense of inadequacy that drives him to be even moodier and more selfish. We learn later that he has a mistress and that he gives her money, even though his wife and children have little to spare. He also coldly tells Marta that the mistress is none of her business. Then, he smacks Marta in the face. Stig is thoroughly unlikeable throughout most of the movie.
To Joy takes a deep dive into important topics, including marital relations, professional aspiration, and personal evolution. I wanted to like it more, and parts of it were quite thought provoking. Ultimately, however, it lacked punch. I attribute this to an uneven pacing. Large portions of them movie focus on Stig's shortcomings and failures, all of which are magnified by Bergman's decisions to begin the film with the call announcing Marta's death and then tell the story almost entirely through retrospective. The late parts of the movie show Stig maturing, realizing his past errors, and becoming more accepting of his professional situation. All of this, we see in the movie, makes him a better husband, a person Marta loves and misses.
But, this apparent redemption happens so quickly, in terms of film time, that we hardly have an opportunity for it to sink in before returning to the start where Marta has died. Even in the final moments of the film, as Stig sees flashbacks of his relationship with Marta, many of the reflections are of the fights or his bad decisions, like giving her a bloody nose. This is, perhaps, one of the few movies that likely would have benefited from being longer and playing out the "improved" relationship between Stig and Marta more, as well as providing some insight into Stig's relationship with his children. Instead, To Joy fall short of its potential.
Marta and Stig both are violinists in an orchestra. They join the orchestra at the same time, then start dating, get married, and have a child. Throughout, Marta is the stronger of the two. Stig is, frankly, rather whiny. He comes across as selfish and moody. He also is ambitious, but he lacks the talent to match his ambitions, a mismatch which seems to generate in him a sense of inadequacy that drives him to be even moodier and more selfish. We learn later that he has a mistress and that he gives her money, even though his wife and children have little to spare. He also coldly tells Marta that the mistress is none of her business. Then, he smacks Marta in the face. Stig is thoroughly unlikeable throughout most of the movie.
To Joy takes a deep dive into important topics, including marital relations, professional aspiration, and personal evolution. I wanted to like it more, and parts of it were quite thought provoking. Ultimately, however, it lacked punch. I attribute this to an uneven pacing. Large portions of them movie focus on Stig's shortcomings and failures, all of which are magnified by Bergman's decisions to begin the film with the call announcing Marta's death and then tell the story almost entirely through retrospective. The late parts of the movie show Stig maturing, realizing his past errors, and becoming more accepting of his professional situation. All of this, we see in the movie, makes him a better husband, a person Marta loves and misses.
But, this apparent redemption happens so quickly, in terms of film time, that we hardly have an opportunity for it to sink in before returning to the start where Marta has died. Even in the final moments of the film, as Stig sees flashbacks of his relationship with Marta, many of the reflections are of the fights or his bad decisions, like giving her a bloody nose. This is, perhaps, one of the few movies that likely would have benefited from being longer and playing out the "improved" relationship between Stig and Marta more, as well as providing some insight into Stig's relationship with his children. Instead, To Joy fall short of its potential.