Quartile rating: 5.5/10 · 1 rating
When astronaut Spencer Armacost returns to Earth after a mission that nearly cost him his life, he decides to take a desk job in order to see his beautiful wife, Jillian, more often. Gradually, Jillian notices that Spencer's personality seems to have changed, but her concerns fade when she discovers that she's pregnant. As Jillian grows closer to becoming a mother, her suspicions about Spencer return. Why does it seem as if he's a different person?
The Astronaut's Wife is a derivative sci-fi thriller that borrows heavily from Rosemary's Baby and Invasion of the Body Snatchers without adding much new to either template. The plot is sluggish and predictable, telegraphing its twists well in advance and failing to build genuine dread. Charlize Theron and Johnny Depp deliver competent performances — Theron in particular carries the film's emotional weight — but neither is given enough material to truly shine. Depp plays cold menace on autopilot. Visually, the film has some atmospheric moments and moody cinematography that suits its paranoid tone, though nothing that distinguishes it from the era's standard Hollywood thriller palette. The ending is deeply unsatisfying, resolving the central mystery in a way that feels both rushed and deflating rather than cathartic or haunting. Overall a middling, forgettable genre exercise that squanders a solid premise.