Direction: Noah Baumbach
Country: USA
What makes Marriage Story so remarkable is the incredible capacity to balance a variety of moods with intimacy and candidness. The film is not just a showcase for Noah Baumbach’s competent writing, direction, and storytelling, but also for the gripping performances by Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver.
The narrative starts off with the married couple and protagonists, Nicole (Johansson), a talented actress, and Charlie (Driver), a rising theater director, telling us what they like about each other. Despite the still constructive feelings and words of praise written down for a marital mediator, it becomes quite clear over time that the divorce is an irreversible decision for Nicole. However, what could have been an amiable procedure if kept between them, becomes a costly, hostile, and inglorious coast-to-coast legal battle led by aggressive lawyers - formidably portrayed by Laura Dern and Ray Liotta.
Amidst all the susceptibility and suffering created by the situation itself, there are witty scenes, some involving Nicole’s family members - her mother Sandra (Julie Hagerty) and sister Cassie (Merritt Wever) - and a particularly awkward one marked by blood and deadpan humor. Everything works perfectly, except the redundant musical episodes, the only aspect I would discard.
Sporting that pungent emotional punch we seek to experience in a study of a decaying marriage, the film fulfilled my expectations and the audiences certainly won’t forget how heartbreaking a separation can be. Marriage Story is among the best of 2019.
