Netflix’s newest original film Marriage Story was inspired by Noah Baumbach’s own divorce and is a moving, star-studded drama film that explores some of the many challenges that come with amicably divorcing. Marriage Story follows Charlie (Adam Driver) and Nicole (Scarlett Johansson) as they attempt to navigate their way through their divorce while still maintaining their families and careers, both of which are heavily intertwined.
Clocking in at 2 hours and 17 minutes, the film takes a little while to get going but once all the characters are established the story begins to pick up and did eventually captivate me. Although I didn’t cry in this one, the film is a slow burn, developing into an incredibly moving and emotional film that is not easy or comfortable to get through.
In fact, speaking of comfortable, I would say Marriage Story occasionally aims to make you feel uncomfortable – whether the shot is too close to the character or stays on them for too long, it feels like it’s Baumbach’s plan to make you feel like a fly on the wall in some of the most intimate and vulnerable moments in a persons life. Even smaller details like a lack of background music or a musical number that goes for the entire length of the song build to create this sense of reality as if you were right there experiencing this with everyone else. This is also a huge credit to the actors involved and their ability to perform these emotional scenes in such a convincing way I literally looked away from the screen and wished I could leave the room.
Majority of the film focuses on the two leading actors but unfortunately, their performances felt slightly out of balance for me. On one hand, Adam Driver is an unstoppable force and Marriage Story will just be added to the arsenal of films that prove he has an impressive range and could just about play any character in any emotional state. Whether it’s singing a show tune, directing a play or arguing with Johansson’s Nicole, this film features many scenes in which Driver convincingly plays a man lost in some of his most vulnerable and personal moments. On the other hand, Johansson portrays Nicole as a passive, hypocritical yet silently angry character who only shows her true emotions when no one else is looking. The character doesn’t really have any one-on-one time with the audience where we can gauge what she’s actually feeling – like we get with Charlie – which I think left me feeling distanced from her. Although the film is clearly written to be as unbiased as possible with both characters supposedly seeming fair and reasonable with their flaws being explainable, there comes a point where you naturally start to pick a side in the divorce and I think Charlie’s emotional vulnerability and occasional naivety won me over.
Focusing on themes of family, introspection and the toll of working in show business, Marriage Story truly is the story of a couple who may still love each other but just don’t quite love each other enough. Featuring guest appearances from the likes of Alan Alda and Ray Liotta as well as a standout performance by Laura Dern, Marriage Story will stay with you long after the credits roll.