Marriage Story

Starring: Adam Driver, Scarlett Johansson, Alan Alda, Azhy Robertson, Laura Dern, Julie Hagerty, Wallace Shawn, Ray Liotta, Robert Smigel
Directed by: Noah Baumbach
Rating: R
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
2019

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A wife (Scarlett Johansson) and husband (Adam Driver) struggle with the dissolution of their marriage.

Review:

Tim: Marriage Story is a painfully authentic look at what happens when two people who loved each other find their relationship no longer works. I would imagine one of the most heartbreaking aspects of life is when someone you loved so deeply becomes someone you can't stand. The termination of a marriage and the fallout from that is examined here in great detail. Baumbach has a knack for getting under the skin of his subject matters and presenting them in all their flawed humanity. Here, he crafts a powerfully emotional film that feels weighty and memorable. This might not be the most fun movie of the year, but it's absolutely one of the best of 2019.

You have to start any review with the incredible performances of the cast. This film received 3 Academy Award nominations for acting- Adam Driver for Best Actor, Scarlett Johansson for Best Actress, and Laura Dern for Best Supporting Actress. I've been so incredibly impressed with Driver in recent years. He's such a physically imposing actor that it's easy to overlook his remarkable talent. I was blown away by his performance in the Broadway play, "Burn This". That same level of passion and heart was on display here. His character goes through such a wide range of emotions here. He's happy and content, he's brokenhearted. He's filled with unfair rage, which boils over in one of the most uncomfortable scenes in the film. Driver is a great actor, there's no doubt about it. It's unfortunate he gave this performance in a year when Joaquin Phoenix just blew everyone away his Joker performance. I suspect Driver will win an Academy Award some day- and he'll deserve it. I have to give a ton of credit to Scarlett Johansson, too. She's made a ton of movies in her career and not all of them have been good. She's been deep into the Marvel Cinematic Universe lately, which might give people the wrong idea about her. She's actually a really talented actress. She gets some long takes here where you're just floored watching her performance. She hits a ton of emotional notes throughout the film as well. I loved her stripped down, authentic performance. She certainly deserved her Academy Award nomination. I wouldn't have been opposed to her winning it. She and Driver work so well together- they actually felt like a couple throughout the movie. They had that sense of familiarity that comes with long relationships. Driver might get a few more of the flashy scenes, but Johansson is excellent here.

It's interesting that of the three, Laura Dern is the one who won. Dern's good in her supporting role. I've long been a fan of her- she's perennially one of the most overlooked actresses in Hollywood. It was great to see her win. She's been nominated for 1 Best Actress and 1 Best Supporting Actress previously. She's definitely great and I'm glad she has an Academy Award now. It's interesting because she was as close to a shoo-in as you can get. No one had any doubt she was going to win. It's hard to say this, but I'm a bit surprised. I thought her performance was good- no doubt, everything she does, she's so effective. It felt like this was yet another strong performance in a career of strong performances. I don't think she did anything especially remarkable, though. In the film, Driver and Johansson are both better than her. She contributes to the movie and makes it better, but she wasn't essential. I really like Dern, so I'm not complaining here- it's just a bit surprising to me that she won. Outside of the big three, Ray Liotta gave a strong performance and it was fun see Alan Alda here, too. As a whole, Baumbach has a terrific cast.

Thinking about Marriage Story, my chest feels a little tight. It's hard to watch people go through such extreme emotions. The wonderful thing about this movie is that it never feels unnecessarily negative. It's obviously difficult to watch people as their marriage crumbles, but it felt like Baumbach did it from a lens of curiosity, not playing up the dramatic for no reason. It's relatable even if you haven't experienced a divorce- everyone has had relationships end. Baumbach captures something authentic about that experience. This was a well-crafted movie- it was nominated for a total of 6 Academy Awards. Netflix had a great one here.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 8


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