Ok you guys, Noah Baumbach might be the official master of divorce...Not that the title is exactly the most sought after title to be bestowed upon a Hollywood Director, but it definitely is given with respect here. "Marriage Story" marks Baumbach's 13th feature film and is arguably going to be his most watched film ever, given that the film was released in partnership with Netflix (more on this later). Baumbach has visited the topic of divorce in many of his movies, most specifically "The Squid and The Whale" (2005) which focuses more on the familial aspect of divorce.
With careful consideration when naming his project, it could have easily been named "Divorce Story", but instead of focusing on the specific facets of divorce, it covers the intricate fabric of the marriage between Charlie and Nicole and how their choices ultimately lead them to separating. It has been dubbed the modern day "Kramer v. Kramer" (1979) but in reality the only connection between the two movies is the subject of divorce. In the movie "Kramer v. Kramer", the story depicts the specific act that leads to divorce, setting up their child in the middle of the conflict. In "Marriage Story" their child is seemingly so insignificant that you don't even remember the child's name. Instead, "Marriage Story" focuses on the lives of Charlie (Adam Driver) and Nicole (Scarlett Johansson) and how they slowly and heartbreakingly fall out of love with one another. In the beginning, the story really has no significant conflict that sets them at odds with each other, but once the lawyers become involved, their divorce becomes messy, fragile and volatile.
"Marriage Story" focuses on the couple Charlie and Nicole as they fight through the courts to end their marriage. The movie begins with his and her letters written to each other through the couple's therapy session, depicting each character's conflicting love and hate for the other person. Charlie is an acclaimed play director in New York who falls in love with an actress in his play, Nicole. Nicole was a teenage star in Hollywood who moved to New York to achieve a more meaningful career in theatre, but as their lives mow forward, she ends up resenting Charlie for making her choose between New York and her home in LA. Baumbach made specific choices when it came to the plot design, the specific arrangement is now speculated to be autobiographical as Baumbach was also married to an actress and went through a nasty divorce, hence his rumored inspiration for Charlie and Nicole.
While the divorce and separation begins amicably, it soon becomes hostile as their lawyers get involved and start threatening with custody law suits - we soon begin to see Charlie and Nicole become vengeful with each other as they lash out in frustration. "Marriage Story" ultimately shows what becomes of a family as it goes through divorce and how the court system and lawyers can shatter the family dynamics even further. We all know the scene now, right? It has become "gifed" and "memed" so many times since its release date
Fight Scene: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dOWjukwMtU
It shows both actors at the top of their game. The film is not about taking sides, it portrays each of the characters in their own way, we are left to make assumptions about each side's story. I spent the first half of the movie jumping back and forth - don't pick a side, just enjoy. It's more about the family dynamics than who is right and wrong.
So, what worked and what didn't?
What Worked:
The Lawyers: Featuring Laura Dern, who looks/acts like Renatta Kline (BLL anyone?) as Nicole's lawyer and Ray Liotta as Charlie's lawyer. Both of these lawyers are bulldogs, grabbing whatever they can get without consulting their clients. Honestly, for me on of the most heartbreaking scenes comes at the end of the movie with Laura Dern explains to Nicole that she won an extra day of custody with their child, giving Nicole 4/7 Weekdays and Charlie only 3. As Nicole explains that she didn't argue for the extra day, Dern replies: "So what? I couldn't let them say that they won."
She did have the best speech that might have ever been given in a film this year about the patriarchal values of our society - seen below for best quotes.
Adam Driver: Adam Driver has had a busy last few months after starring in "Marriage Story" with Netflix, he was also in Amazon's "The Report" and now Disney's "Star Wars". Driver has an interesting back-story, after leaving the Marines due to injury, he enrolled at Julliard to study acting and has now become common-place in Hollywood after his role on HBO's "Girls" and becoming the new Star Wars villain Kylo-Ren. Driver was honored at Telluride Film Festival this summer for his role in "Marriage Story" with the Silver Medallion Award which was bestowed upon him by Martin Scorsese for his achievements in acting. He is great in this film, even when Scarlett is in the scene, my eyes are on him, waiting to see what he will do next.
What Didn't Work:
Framework: Not that it didn't work, but the movie trailer set the movie up to appear as his and her stories. We see from the first trailer that Charlie and Nicole write letters to each other, explaining what they love and dislike about the other person in their marriage. This is the first ten minutes of the movie, but the movie does not re-visit the same format for the remainder of the film. Instead, the court-system dominates the rest of the film in my opinion.
"Marriage Story" will 100% be Baumbach's most viewed Feature Film because it was released by Netflix. As we all know, Netflix is desperately vying for respect in Hollywood and when "Roma" got snubbed at the Awards in 2019, they have been out for revenge and have stocked their arsenal with 6 Feature Films that are in consideration for the 2020 Awards. Dolemite is My Name, Two Popes, The King, The Irishman, The Laundromat and Marriage Story, will most likely earn Awards in at least 2/4 Major Categories. Is this a bad thing? Not necessarily, but with the success of "Marriage Story" and other Netflix releases, you can almost bet that we will see even more films released through the Streaming Service next year.
Best Quotes:
Laura Dern, Nicole's Lawyer arguing the court system's structural differences: how they view mothers and fathers when it comes to divorce and custody.
"Before that, fathers were expected to be silent and absent and unreliable and selfish. We can all say that we want them to be different, but on some level we accept them. We love them for their fallibilities. But people absolutely don't accept the same failings in mothers. We don't accept them structurally and we don't accept them spiritually. "
The Race:
Leading the nominations in The Golden Globes and SAG Awards in their major categories, it is a given that we will see "Marriage Story" at the Academy Awards in February most likely for: Best Picture, Best Actor (Driver), Best Supporting Actress (Dern), Best Director (Baumbach) and Best Screenplay.
Now some are saying that "Marriage Story" cannot really be judged unless you are married or divorced. While that might be the case, "Marriage Story" portrays what a family looks like while it's breaking and is worth taking time time to watch.
Official Review: 7/10
And that's the sitch.
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