Innovative English screenwriter-director Bryan Forbes (“Whistle Over the Wind,” “Seance on a Wet Afternoon”) helmed “The Stepford Wives,” one of the finest satirical horror thrillers of 1975. Ira Levin’s 1972 novel inspired William Goldman’s film adaptation. As the story progresses, we follow Joanna Eberhart and her family as they relocate from the Big Apple to Stepford, Connecticut. Here, our protagonist, Joanna, perceives the women in Stepford as machine-like beings who are utterly obedient to their spouses.
Over the years, the mind-bending thriller has become a cult classic. In fact, the term “Stepford wife” has come to imply an excessively idealistic person. Furthermore, the film spawned several sequels and a posh 2004 remake. It’s the kind of movie that will make you reevaluate your entire suburban worldview.
The Stepford Wives (1975) Plot Summary & Movie Synopsis:
Prologue
Do you unquestioningly trust what you see, or do you dig deeper? “The Stepford Wives” takes place in the picturesque town of Stepford, where Joanna Eberhart and her family settle down in the midst of the heavenly suburban tranquillity. However, beneath the surface of perfectly trimmed lawns and cheeky smiles, a creepy uneasiness lurks. When Joanna meets her neighbors, who are the epitome of domestic perfection but unnervingly submissive, she starts to feel a sinister presence behind their flawless facade.
A growing terror compels her to uncover the wicked truths hidden within Stepford. Joanna Eberhart is a woman with a busy life, balancing her job as a photographer with caring for her son and husband. Seeking a change from bustling city life, the family decides to move to Stepford for a more peaceful life. They find their new home spacious, but it feels empty without family photos and furniture.
What sets the plot in motion?
On their first day, their neighbor, Carol Van Sant, brings over a casserole and offers help whenever they need it. However, Joanna soon notices something strange about the women in Stepford—they always agree to their husbands’ demands without question, whether they’re right, wrong, moral, or immoral. Additionally, Joanna observes her neighbor Ted behaving oddly with his wife, Carol, in the middle of the day. Carol seems strangely compliant as if hypnotized, but Joanna doesn’t think much of it at the time.
Joanna later discovers that Walter has received an invitation to join the prestigious Men’s Association, a group that includes members such as lawyers, doctors, and architects. Nevertheless, Walter’s vague descriptions of the club and its activities raise Joanna’s suspicions. Moreover, when Carol has a minor accident at the mall, and the ambulance takes her in a different direction than the Stepford hospital, Joanna’s suspicions start to grow. Still, she’s not yet fully convinced that there’s something wrong with the town.
What causes Joanna and Bobby to suspect something?
Joanna strikes up a friendship with Bobby Markowe, an ex-Gothamite and a fan of Joanna’s. Joanna couldn’t be happier, as boredom and loneliness had been plaguing her since she arrived in town. Furthermore, Bobby’s husband, Dave, is also part of the peculiar Men’s Association and attends nightly meetings from which women are mysteriously excluded.
Like Joanna, Bobby also finds it strange that all the women in town are solely housewives, with their lives revolving around washing dishes, cooking meals, and tending to household chores. Even Diz, the leader of the men’s club, voices his enjoyment of seeing women perform these chores rather than earning money and becoming independent.
During a dinner party, Diz meticulously sketches Joanna, capturing her features from eyes to nose to life in great detail as if he were going to sculpt her. Another member arrives at Joanna’s house, asking for personal information about the places she has visited and requesting to record her voice. When questioned, the man dismisses it as just a hobby. In addition, while Joanna is away walking her dog, the members of the men’s club creepily inspect her room and closets.
A couple of days later, Joanna notices Carol repeating the same sentences over and over again at a house party, similar to what she did in the parking lot. Ted, Carol’s husband, manages her at the party, and the following day, Carol claims she was simply drunk. This, along with everything that has transpired so far since she moved to the town, only adds to Joanna’s suspicion that there’s something seriously wrong with the homemakers of Stepford.
What happened to Bobby?
To give the housewives a way to have fun, Joanna and Bobby decide to form their own club, or, as they call it, “consciousness-raising sessions.” However, all the housewives refuse, claiming they don’t have much time left after completing their household chores. Fortunately, they find a member in Charmain. Like the other two, Charmain is new to town, and her husband, Ed, is also a member of the Men’s Association. Many housewives attend the meeting, but no one seems willing to speak or share anything about their personal lives. Instead, they all focus on topics like baking cakes, discussing cleaning products, and other household chores, which Joanna and Bobby find very odd.
Joanna and Bobby discover that the town once had a women’s club, but it disbanded, and most of the women moved out. Carol, Ted’s wife, used to be the president of the club, but she refuses to talk about it. Soon after, Charmain appears hypnotized, dismissing her house help to handle all household chores alone. This behavior is odd, as Charmain, Bobby, and Joanna met a couple of weeks ago, and she wouldn’t even lift a finger to do house chores.
Bobby believes this is not a coincidence and suspects that someone or something is influencing all the women in town. She suspects it might be the water. Together, they meet Joanna’s ex-boyfriend, Ronald, who also happens to be a chemist, to test the water. Unfortunately, the reports come back clean, but Bobby remains unconvinced. She decides to move, but before she can put her plan into action, she, too, is hypnotized.
The Stepford Wives (1975) Movie Ending Explained:
What Happened to the Housewives of Stepford?
Joanna realizes that the Men’s Club is the reason the women are acting strange, but she doesn’t know how the men are doing it. She doesn’t want to become like them—a cleaning robot devoid of personality. Instead, Joanna wants to take pictures and enjoy life. Joanna is determined to escape the town with her kids, but as soon as she returns home, she finds them missing. When she tries to leave the house to search for them, Walter, her husband, tries to attack her, forcing Joanna to lock herself in the upstairs room.
As the situation escalates, Joanna attacks Walter and learns where her children are. She makes her way to the Men’s Association office, where she discovers the shocking truth. So, what is really wrong with the housewives of Stepford? In the office, Joanna finds Diz, who reveals that the men in the town have replaced their troublesome wives with obedient and perfect replicas who fulfill their every command, cooking and cleaning without question.
Joanna is shocked to discover a robot replica of herself, suggesting that the women in the town are not humans but machines, devoid of personality and emotions, just pretending to be human. This explains why Bobby didn’t bleed when Joanna stabbed her. Tragically, Joanna, like the other women, dies, and her robotic double takes her place. As the film nears its end, we see a black family moving into town, hinting that the woman may be the next target of the Men’s Association.
The Stepford Wives (1975) Movie Themes Analysed:
“The Stepford Wives” presents an icy exploration of idealistic domestication and the suppression of individuality within the bounds of suburban perfectionism. By critiquing the gender roles of the time, this movie encourages viewers to look beneath the surface of things and examine the more sinister aspects of societal norms.
Gender Roles and Feminine Identity
The movie’s central theme is the 1970s’ severe gender norms. It shows a society that wants women to be perfect housekeepers, obedient wives, and loving mothers without any independence or drive for their own lives. The story emphasizes how women are pushed into roles where they are expected to adhere to an unrealistic ideal of perfection and how this coercion causes them to lose their identity.
Autonomy vs Conformity
A recurring theme in “The Stepford Wives” is the unsettling transition of independent women into submissive robots, representing the utmost lack of agency. Not only does the movie condemn men’s masculine tendencies, but it also highlights how society as a whole has helped reduce women to their household duties. The theme here is a warning about the risks of giving up one’s individuality and uniqueness in favor of fitting in with societal norms.
Use of Symbols and Visual Comparisons
The movie’s subject matter is further strengthened by the use of striking imagery and symbolism. The perfect appearances and mechanical actions of the robotic wives are striking symbols of dehumanization. Their shiny exteriors reflect our shallow culture, which prioritizes appearances over substance. The mirrors that appear throughout the movie serve as symbols of the women’s forced identities and the ways in which they scrutinize themselves, as well as the inherent hypocrisy in their outward appearances.
![Who Will Start Another Fire [2021] Review: A Mixed Bag with Powerful Surprises And Incredible Messaging](https://www.highonfilms.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/NotBlackEnough-768x432.jpg)
![Implanted [2022] Review – A shallow A.I-gone-wrong thriller](https://www.highonfilms.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Implanted-Movie-Review-1-768x322.jpg)
