There is a particular prowess to a film that can fall into two very distinctive but oxymoronic categories. One being in the realm of a masterpiece, and the second is the type of film that I would be delighted to never watch again for the rest of my life. And that is precisely what Noah Baumbach’s latest feature Marriage Story is. It’s a Kramer vs Kramer-like drama that documents the fallout and eventual divorce of a newly separated couple of Nicole and Charlie, played by Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver.
Tender and Ludicrously Compelling
Baumbach once again crafts a tender and ludicrously compelling film that insights an internal riot of mixed emotions. A perfect companion piece to his previous Netflix feature The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected). If the Adam Sandler and Ben Stiller comedy vehicle is about growing up and growing old, Marriage Story is the stifling and suffocating middle ground of adulthood. Baumbach has the viewer power through some incredibly dark and challenging sequences of emotional and psychological abuse. Watching a couple running into a brick wall headfirst with no morally genuine appreciation or protection for each other, and at times themselves, is a difficult task even for the cruelest of people.
Baumbach undercuts much of this sadistic venom with an outstanding tonal balance that soothes each nasty thread with an approach of easily digestible comedy. Moments in sequences that are intertwined organically and realistically that do not jeopardise the intensity or tension but provide that much-needed escape for the viewer. An ideal that reinforces the torment of each character has to bear witness or provide. The viewer becomes far more engaged and compelled with each slowed down intimate moment of fun. Connecting deeper with not only the characters needing the much-desired release from trauma, but the audience needs it as well.
Laura Dern’s overly zealous character Nora Fanshaw as lawyer to Johansson’s Nicole is one specific example of each and every sequence best described as lightening captured in a bottle. From small subtle nuances of the characters facial expressions to her highly strung combative and outrageously evocative monologues, each sequence is a scene stealer and perfect diffuser to the events that unfold. She’s horribly sickly to watch on screen and purposely so. Evil, yet enigmatic, it’s a shame that the bloated cameo of Ray Liotta cannot inject the same amount of creative charisma, although it is best assure that the tonal shift of comedic bravado would out do the dramatic weight Baumbach desired.
Intimacy and Fire Blend with Perfection
It is a firecracker of entertainment but also a valuable intimate portrait of adulthood that is rarely covered to the length it is here, aside from a small sub-plot. It makes for daunting viewing but an integral aspect of life that needs to be documented in its most vain and honest delinquencies. What undoubtedly holds this from a trauma-inducing epic are the utterly masterful performances from both Johansson and Driver. The former has long resisted the urge to throw herself in a performance truly quite like this. Under the Skin, Her and Don Jon showed signs of the long-awaited talent Johansson has at her fingertips, and with Marriage Story, Johansson unleashes every inch of ferocious intensity and emotional conviction she stores.
Partnered with Driver makes for an even more delicious rivalry and relationship. The chemistry is off the charts, both having integral charisma between them that inducts the audience under their wing as if you are their second child of sorts. If Johansson is a powerhouse, then Driver is something even more extraordinary. A specific meltdown/breakdown firing all cylinders against Johansson is not the conviction to grant him Best Actor at Venice, or even buzz for the academy awards then there’s a severe crime committed against what is assuredly one of the best performances this year.
Marriage Story: Exceptional Performances
The intimacy and fire blend with perfection. A vicious entity when it wants to be but also inviting and tender catapult into the authentic dynamics of family life. Perhaps a once in a lifetime viewing sounds particularly harsh approach to what is unquestionably another masterpiece from Baumbach, but it is a heavy-hitting and brutal feature that leaves no stone unturned and no fallen tear allowed to escape from the camera.
What do you make of Noah Baumbach creating a legacy on Netflix? Will you be eagerly watching your television with motion blur turned off? Let us know in the comments below!
Watch Marriage Story
Does content like this matter to you?
Become a Member and support film journalism. Unlock access to all of Film Inquiry`s great articles. Join a community of like-minded readers who are passionate about cinema - get access to our private members Network, give back to independent filmmakers, and more.