Watched the new Netflix original Noah Baumbach film Marriage Story. Not a completely accurate title for a movie. With that title, you might suspect something happier, more romantic, or maybe even cute. This movie ain’t those things at all… but it can be sweet and funny in between draining, sometimes bitter arguments (but rarely hatred). Maybe not the best Christmas movie out there… or maybe it can be. It’s just that good.
So the film stars Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson as a New York theater couple who have been married for around ten years but are now on the edge of divorce. She wants to move back to LA and get a television gig, he wants to stay in NYC producing his stage plays. They have a young son who they both want to keep. The film follows them as they separate, decide on an amicable divorce, wind up with battling lawyers, and get into a lot of shouting matches and almost as many sweet moments when they remember they are family and have a loving son.
This is an actors movie with a capital A. Johansson and Driver are so damn good in this movie… it’s nice to see them actually do that acting thing with a script that challenges them. Especially for Johansson who reminds us how good she can be in movies that don’t cost 200 million bucks. I haven’t seen Driver in too much so seeing him do this good work was more first time revelation.
And the script they are working with is written for actors and for adults who want real drama. It gives these actors so much to work with and it’s a challenging script since neither character is always the good guy. They go back and forth… sometimes she seems more reasonable, sometimes he does. And the cool thing is, based on the various take-aways from think pieces and reviewers, nobody can really agree on who the main character is and/or who is better or worse. The movie lets the viewer decide based on challenging dialog and excellent acting.
These two are joined by a pretty cool supporting cast. Alan Alda shows up as a divorce attorney and its nice to see him back in the saddle. Laura Dern and Ray Liotta play a pair of battling, shanking, sadistic (except when not on the clock where they are friendly) dueling divorce lawyers. All three of them add a lot of support to the lead actors and some of the movie’s better laughs (hey, it’s not all humorless bickering).
Check this movie out if you want some grounded, sometimes very funny, sometimes sad adult/mature storytelling. It’s a great flick and a fine example of how a movie can be about anything or anyone and still be great even if you can’t put your feet in their shoes. I’m not a NY or LA actor or artist and I’ve never been through a divorce, but a good movie will make you care regardless. That’s something a lot of films just can’t do. See this one. One of the best films of the year.
Score: 90