Marriage Story- A Visceral Captivating Tale
Noah Baumbach's career feels like it was essentially leading up to this very film, it's his magnum opus and will be a strong contender for this year's greatest. 'Marriage Story' was the second film I saw at Leeds International Film Festival and the first film to make me break down into tears on the train home. It is heartbreaking, brutally honest and cinematically accomplished compelled by two actors at the top of their game.
I'm a big fan of films with a very small concept that develop vertically from there, 'Marriage Story' essentially takes the base concept of divorce and turns it into two vicious hours of brutal character depth. The film opens with this glorious fake out, two idyllic monologues about our protagonist's quirks and 'what they love about each other' and contradicts this by revealing it is a marriage counselling session and that is the whole film's core idea. The heartbreak involved in splitting up with someone that you admire and genuinely feel for. From here Baumbach explores this tug of war, demonstrating how soul crushing and manipulative this process is with an all too personal hint of authenticity. It is a cruel and unforgiving process, playing with our preconceptions and hope for these characters and repeatedly pulling the rug from under the audience with cruel precision. It's a film about connection, honesty and communication that is equal parts brimming with cynicism as it is cautious to suggest hope.
Honestly, I've never been much of a fan of Scarlet Johansson, I find she always has a habit of playing herself, dismissing the character for insistence of her own acting prowess. However, this is a mile above any performance I've seen her give, she is glorious in every single way. The character of Diane is gloriously sympathetic, all over the place complicated and a brutally honest portrayal of a woman in crisis. Baumbach portrays this process as equal parts freeing and equal parts revealing for her, she takes strides in self improvement but has to come to terms with her own faults and problems. The way she is written is so complicated and in the nicest sense of the word, messy, as she struggles and overcomes everything with confidence yet heartbreak. And then there is the performance that is (hopefully) going to win Adam Driver an Oscar. I don't know where to start with the character of Charlie, he has to be one of the most sympathetic, intensely flawed and fascinating characters I've ever seen in a film. He is the character we side with naturally, but ultimately becomes more and flawed, he is thrust into this situation yet as the film progresses he is a character that may not be as perfect as we originally thought. There are two very specific scenes that cement Driver as an actor unlike any other, I wont spoil them but they are both scenes that left me in this overwhelmed state with tears running down my face. It is a film full of acting that is the result of effort and heart in every single way.
I've been mulling over 'Marriage Story' in my head since I saw it, it is a film that aggressively stays with you, sometimes it is almost overwhelming with its honesty and oftentimes it has this sweet touch of humanity that is irresistible. I felt this way with a lot of Baumbach's work, he has the tendency to reel the audience in with humanity and disorientate them with emotion however i think this is by far his best use of this idea. The screenplay will often make you laugh in the middle of high emotion scenes, make you cringe comically before pulling the curtain and revealing emotion even occasionally composing a scene where half the characters in the shot evoke the opposite reaction to the other half.
I was beyond shocked to see Randy Newman's name in the credits for this beautiful score, it is whimsical and depressing but full of this intoxicating uniqueness. Some scenes are even muted to allow his score to come through, it uses that emotional undertone contrasted with optimistic melodies perfectly that he is known for. It's also surprisingly adaptable, clearly a lot of effort went into creating a score that can adapt to any and all scenes perfectly. Robbie Ryan, a DP I've had a lot of admiration for, is just as adaptable in his framing and cinematic talents. He keeps the cinematic language universal, relying on close ups and extended shot length to emulate tense and emotional scenes yet always draws the attention to a very specific place (thankfully resisting a lot of his handheld work that he is known for). There is also a wonderful set of supporting actors, the highlight being the delightful Laura Dern as Nicole's lawyer. She rides this line of genuinely slimy and uncomfortable but with this infectious guise of caring and empathy, her performance is not only hilarious but greatly uncomfortable to watch.
'Marriage Story' is simply a cinematic delight that will emotionally destroy its audience. The phrase 'not a cheek will be left dry' comes to mind as no matter if you have the closest connection to these topics or no identifiable relation, it still manages to create such a visceral experience that will impact anyone. It's by no means perfect, it has that 'Return of the King' problem with it's ending, however it feels like every scene still has a purpose and that is genuinely the only fault I can levy at it. Baumbach has not only managed to get a beautiful set of Oscar-worthy performances but has also created one of the best portrayals of a relationship I have ever seen indulging in the complexities and harrowing truths with no compromise.
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