Marriage Story (2019)
Directed by Noah Baumbach
Written by Noah Baumbach
Starring Adam Driver, Scarlett Johansson, Laura Dern, Alan Alda, Ray Liotta
Release Date December 6th, 2019
Published December 2nd, 2019
Only Noah Baumbach could make his least cynical movie about divorce. Cynicism about other people, about relationships, romantic or parental, is at the core of Baumbach’s work. Baumbach has always had a sharp ear for dialogue that cuts to the heart of intimate conflict and in movies such as Greenberg or Margot at the Wedding, he’s used that sharpness to darkly humorous effect. His films are often very insightful even as they are especially bitter.
Thus we arrive at Marriage Story, Baumbach’s most mature and thoughtful movie that finds places of deep, ugly, honesty and yet manages to end on a note that doesn’t leave you feeling that he loathes the rest of humanity. Marriage Story may be about the desperately sad end of what appeared to be a happy and fulfilling marriage but somehow, Baumbach turns that ugliness into something beautiful and bordering on hopeful.
Marriage Story stars Adam Driver as Charlie and Scarlett Johannson as Nicole. Together, they are the parents of Henry (Azhy Robertson) and are part of a successful theater company where Charlie is a rising star director and Nicole is the star. They’re friends believed they were a perfect couple but now, they are getting a divorce. Nicole is moving to Los Angeles for a television job and Henry is going with her.
The plan is for Charlie and Nicole to work out their divorce together with no lawyers. That lasts about a day or so until Nicole accepts some advice to visit with Nora (Laura Dern). Nora helps Nicole see the challenges ahead of her in trying to establish herself in Los Angeles while Charlie pressures her to move back to New York City. Nicole wants Charlie to recognize that she wants things as much as he wants particular things. Eventually, Nicole agrees that hiring Nora is her only choice.
Blindsided, Charlie is forced to get his own lawyer, first turning to a high powered, expensive brawler, Jay Marrotta (Ray Liotta) before settling on the less expensive and more fatherly, Burt (Alan Alda). Burt urges Charlie to settle and even consider moving to Los Angeles as his case for living in New York appears weak compared to Nicole’s case for living in Los Angeles. Both Charlie and Nicole have strong reasons for wanting what they want and the movie is fair to both sides.
There isn’t much more of a plot to describe in Marriage Story. The movie isn’t about plot, it’s about characters and in Charlie and Nicole, we have some of the most indelible characters that Noah Baumbach has created in a career filled with great characters. In Adam Driver and Scarlett Johannson, Baumbach has a pair of actors who are magnetic personalities. No matter what kind of nasty or thoughtless words Baumbach puts in their mouths, Driver and Johannson remain people we care for deeply.
Since Marriage Story isn’t a movie that is about plot, we are forced to rely on moments and Driver and Johannson are incredible at creating moments with these characters. The standout moment is an argument that is verbally violent. It’s a scene of remarkable energy and intensity deepened by how real it feels. The going for the jugular in this scene is not showy, not over the top, it has an organic, earnest, and angry quality that is raw and real.
In a movie filled with great moments, another that stands out is a musical performance. Marriage Story is not a musical and the two musical scenes are not fourth wall breaking moments of experimental cinema. Rather, both scenes are organic to the performative nature of these two wonderful characters. The one that stayed with me was the performance of a Gershwin song by Adam Driver. He may not be a natural singer but his manner carries the song, an almost accidental confession of his vulnerability. Driver’s acting sells the performance in ways a trained singer might not be able to achieve.
Marriage Story is Noah Baumbach’s first visual masterpiece. The direction is flawless with the sets and the compositions adding depth and beauty to the complex emotions of this story. Some visuals are a little on the nose such as a scene where Charlie and Nicole are on opposite sides of a gate they are helping each other to close but for the most part, the look of Marriage Story with its bright, spare spaces filled with visual dividers is a lovely reflection of the divisions growing between Charlie and Nicole.
The ways in which Baumbach and his crew visually divide Charlie and Nicole is subtle yet striking when you do notice it. My favorite moment is in Nora’s expensive law office. A pair of overhead lights act as a visual dividing line with Nicole on one side and Charlie on the other as the camera slowly recedes from the scene. It’s a gorgeous use of setting to underline the story being told.
The script for Marriage Story is the best of Baumbach’s career, a lacerating yet lovely script that establishes why Charlie and Nicole can’t remain married while making neither one the villain. That’s quite a trick to pull off. Movies like this tend to rely on one side being the villain but not Marriage Story. Both Charlie and Nicole have done things that they regret and Charlie has been openly neglectful of Nicole’s desires but for the most part, both sides are treated fairly.
There are no illusions about Nicole and Charlie’s future, no hints that a simple resolution is coming that will make everything okay and yet, the movie has a hopeful quality. The message appears to be that there is life after divorce and recriminations are like small cuts that eventually heal. Forgiveness is part of loving someone, even if it isn't the kind of love that keeps a marriage together.
I mentioned at the start that Marriage Story is Noah Baumbach’s least cynical movie and it is. You will need to see the movie to find out why. That’s not to say that there is a spoiler per se, I don’t think I could spoil this movie, but there are emotional elements that you need to access for yourself to understand what I mean when I say the movie is less cynical than movies like The Squid and the Whale or Mistress America or his previous Netflix effort, The Meyerowitz Stories.
