Directed By Noah Baumbach

Starring – Scarlett Johansson, Adam Driver, Laura Dern

The Plot – A stage director (Driver) and his actor wife (Johansson) struggle through a grueling, coast-to-coast divorce that pushes them to their personal and creative extremes.

Rated R for adult language throughout and sexual references.

POSITIVES

– Authenticity. One of the biggest things that is often lost in translation during these separation films is the air of precision that can soil the gimmick if not given the proper room to grow in its characters and storytelling direction. This is thankfully not the case in “Marriage Story”, as Baumbach preserves realism in his dialogue, complete with natural elevation in speech patterns during arguments, as well as character outlines that are second to none in terms of establishing things that have happened off-screen. The film’s opening monologue depicts this more than anything, hitting on the very high’s and low’s of each character’s demeanor that has led us to this last resort of no other option. It’s clear that the love they have for each other still exists, but the conflictual movements of two careers growing together, yet in extremely different directions is one that had paid its toll on the both of them, and left them making drastic decisions once the person across from them becomes a virtual stranger.

– Gender-neutral. Baumbach’s responsible take in establishing logic within both characters allows the audience the freedom to explore them both as people without placing one hundred percent of the blame at the feet of one or the other. In this regard, the film really does prove that it takes two to tango when it comes to dissolving a marriage, and the desire to never absolve either of them of such responsibility allows you to understand the sharp movements of diminishing logic that each of them occasionally makes. Never at any point during the film did I feel like I was leaning one way or the other with who was in the majority at fault for what develops, and thanks to no shortage of interaction between Johansson and Driver’s respective characters, we peel the onion of exposition back one layer at a time to understand that every action has unnoticed weight in a bigger, meticulous picture.

– Career best performances. This is through the eyes of Driver and Johansson obviously, but the radiance of an experienced cast of cinematic familiar faces certainly didn’t hurt. Alan Alda’s warmth in exuberance, Ray Liota’s ruthlessness in cunning instinct, Julie Haggerty never before seen depth in emoting a character who isn’t a complete airhead, and of course Laura Dern’s competent balance of calculated intelligence and unrivaled determination, brought forth a big screen emphasis behind the two leads who bring emotional dexterity to the film, and in spades they certainly bring it. Driver channels an evolution in character that makes him emotionally unfamiliar with what we’ve come to expect from the actor. He’s done dramatic roles before, but nothing to the degree of screaming to the point that it makes him collapse from the vitriol that spews from his delivery. In addition to this, Johansson is definitely the show-stealer for me, maintaining watery eyes without a single tear falling beneath her fiery registry that bares the weight of years of self-sacrifice. As Nicole, Scarlett harvests a powerful side in mental toughness that rivals her turns in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Black Widow, and while the latter role will still be her most memorable, this one will be her most meaningful.

– Meaningful measures. Even with this being a Netflix production, Baumbach doesn’t spare a penny of profound intellectualism to give his production a shape of experimentation, and it pays off beautifully for the ride that the screenplay takes. On an aesthetic perspective, Noah uses handheld only during the film’s opening dual-monologue to highlight the ordinarily mundane moments of a marriage that often go unnoticed through inexperienced eyes, but are pointed out through the eyes of someone who loves the person in question. Aside from this, the frequent use of long takes during the film maintains this inescapable realism of life that the characters, nor we the audience, can ever seem to get away from. This element also contributes to long-winded deliveries that Driver and Johansson have no problem conveying, and allows us to take in every second of their interactions to admire the snowball theory of chaos that grows with each retort. Finally, there isn’t a single frame in the movie that isn’t used to some shred of nuanced commentary within this relationship, but none more resonant than an opening minute shot involving Johansson’s Nicole elevating while on an escalator. This is of course meant to signify the spiritual awakening of ascension that currently resides within her, and alludes vibrantly to the changes that are right around the corner for the trio of characters that make up this family.

– Teleporting musical score. Randy Newman, the very same academy award winning composer with films like the “The Paper”, “Meet the Parents”, and of course the entire Toy Story franchise, is called upon once more to score “Marriage Story”, and it brings forth his most classically evaporative collection of compositions to date. Not only do these tracks maintain an air of New York City elegance that was similar to Woody Allen movies of the 70’s and 80’s, but they emit an aura of longing every time a revelation in the relationship comes to light of us the audience. Newman, like usual, primarily uses piano to charm his audience, but none of the numbers feel heavy handed or forced with the proper emotional capacity that it was attaining in each scene it accompanied. There’s a stirring volume that articulates something sentimental taking shape, but the abstract notes only sets the stage for what the talented actors transfer in emotional vulnerability. A winning team all around.

– Lengthy runtime. At 131 minutes, “Marriage Story” is a bit of an ambitious investment for anyone who doesn’t favor the occasional tissue-tug, but while the story leaves very little on the editing room floor, its finished product is in fact a justifiable one for the abundance of exposition and divorce proceeding evolution that the film is unabashed with depicting. There isn’t a single scene that I would remove or shorten from this screenplay. The pacing remains consistent even when the general outline is so repetitious, but it’s the undeniable chemistry of the two leads, as well as our audience investment into each of them that makes this a watch that you just can’t turn away from, if only for the way you want peaceful resolve for both sides. As the film persisted, I found myself paying less attention to the time, and more attention to the growing obstacles that manifest like secluded memories in a psychological fog.

– Tonal spontaneity. This is easily the biggest surprise of the movie for me heading into the film, as the occasional emergence of awkward humor brought a satisfying release of air during these surreal scenes of tension confining us ever so tightly. Because of this timely and often effective funny bone that the movie occasionally throws at us, the sharp sting of the shallowness that embodies the characters during these vicious diatribes aimed at the other person leaves enough goosebumps and watery tear ducts to remind us that this is a hefty drama above all else. Baumbach’s films like “Francis Ha” or “While We’re Young” have always maintained this appreciation for the silliness of life, and in the game of divorce this sentiment stretches the imagination of such a concept by depicting grown adults fighting like the very same child who they are trying to protect. It’s hilarious while being respectable of the weight of the subject matter, and blends together surprisingly seamlessly for how contrasting the two sides of tone actually are.

– Best scene of 2019. This scene has it in my eyes, and it happens during a long-take verbal whiplash between the two protagonists where it all comes to a dramatic head. There are many things compelling about this sequence, but for me it was the capabilities of two amazing actors memorizing every bit of the written word that Baumbach himself penned, as well as the hateful resonance that really pays off the trial and everything before it in a way that we only expected in the fantastical aspects of our minds. This is these two characters at their most vulnerably defeated, when their own personal demons come to light, and nothing feels off limits when so much has already been invested, both in money and emotional taxing. This scene was attempted nearly fifty different times until the line and performances were done to Baumbach’s level of perfection, and even in a gut-wrenching scene so toxically supercharged, I couldn’t appreciate the director enough for pushing the envelope to make sure it stood as the extra emphasis in a movie littered with difficult to watch subject matter.

– Subliminal references. Aside from the intelligent material that is taking place on the foreground of the movie’s primary focus, the subtle persistence of influence for the film pops up more times than you may have noticed. For one, there are two songs performed superbly from “Company”, a Broadway show about relationships and whether or not they work in the current social landscape of the setting. Aside from this, the magazine in Nicole’s mother’s house at the very beginning of the film is called “Scenes From a Marriage”, which is a 1973 film of the same name that draws comparisons like fame decaying a marriage, infidelity, and a lengthy divorce above all things that this film draws from. This proves that “Marriage Story” might not be anything original, but it does its homework in understand what worked and didn’t about the similar films that came before it, which in turn makes this the quid-essential divorce film of the current generation.

NEGATIVES

– Audio issues. What small nitpicks that I did have for the film resulted in a series of audio miscues and complete lack of believability that registered in a couple of scenes that take place in a setting with live music. This has become a bit of a cliche in contemporary cinema, but characters will talk and be heard perfectly clear, despite the fact that music should be drowning them out or at least slightly distorting them. This happened on two different occasions in this film, and is something I can never look past, especially in a story so grounded in realism behind nearly every turn. Beyond this, the audio recording during one scene indoors felt a bit mumbled, and could’ve used another cut of post-production clarity to crystalize what took me two watches and subtitles to cement as important to the unraveling of the scene.

My Grade: 9/10 or A