Marriage Story (2019)- BFI London Film Festival 2019

Review

136min

Genre:       Comedy, Drama, Romance

Director:    Noah Baumbach

Cast:         Scarlett Johansson, Adam Driver, Azhy Robertson…and more

Writers:     Noah Baumbach

-Synopsis-

When their personal relationship breaks down as they begin to grow apart, a stage actress returns to L.A. with her young son to restart a Hollywood career, while her estranged New York theatre director husband struggles to come to terms their marital destiny when the move threatens to become permanent—as the ‘D-word’ hangs heavy in the air and things become tense with an impending custody battle, and the struggle of two decent people trying to keep a family together . . . while it’s inevitably pulled apart.

When it comes to navigating the precarious waters of life, love and friendship on the big screen, you’d be hard pressed to find a filmmaker with a more distinct cinematic voice than Noah Baumbach, having tackled everything from divorce and infidelity to ageing and dysfunctional family with honesty and idiosyncrasy, helping us to unravel the imperfect puzzle of life with charm and humility along the way. Now with perhaps the most sober and frank, yet still playful and droll picture of his career, the cinematic master of quirky and contemporary middle-class relationships joins the likes of ‘Kramer vs. Kramer’ director Robert Benton in the exclusive club of honest, humanistic and non-melodramatic yet poignant and heart-wrenching divorce dramas—as he joins forces with Netflix in their bid to conquer the awards season with potentially his biggest film to date.

Scarlett Johansson stars as former Hollywood up-and-comer and Broadway actress ‘Nicole Barber’, a working mother who’s built a life in New York with her director/playwright husband ‘Charlie’ (Adam Driver) as they nurture their small theatre company and raise their adorable son ‘Henry’ (Azhy Robertson). But when their relationship hits the rocks and Nicole heads back West with her son to rekindle her screen career and reclaim her identity, the move threatens to become permanent and a custody battle ensues when their marriage breaks down, as resentments surface and the waters of their family are soiled when their respective lawyers ‘Nora’ (Laura Dern) and ‘Jay’ (Ray Liotta) wade in—and two well-meaning people struggle to keep their family afloat while their unit breaks apart.

Although Hollywood is certainly no stranger to the topics of marriage and divorce, rarely does it handle them with sobriety, subtlety, maturity and wistful honesty—but that’s exactly the name of Baumbach’s game here. Treating them with a melancholy simplicity and avoiding the stylised dramatics usually associated with the sub-genre, the director presents a very personal warts-and-all and heart-breaking, yet at the same time emotionally restrained and charming portrait of individuals on the brink and a family in crisis, while providing a measure of hope and a light at the end of the tunnel. And despite being told from a distinctly white, middle-class bohemian artist perspective, there are universal human themes throughout.

Much like ‘Kramer vs Kramer‘ did in the 70s, ‘Marriage Story’ delves (albeit briefly) into the psychology and life-altering process of divorce, exploring shifting gender role expectations, work/life balance, the single parent paradigm and the prickly issue of custody, all through the prism of a 21st century artistic couple—and yet even though Baumbach treads much of the same ground, he does so with subtlety and a singular light-hearted charm which betrays the subject matter, and universal human themes which subvert the perspective. Perhaps the film’s greatest achievement though is its restraint and maturity, as Baumbach captures the disruptive and adversarial intricacies of divorce without losing sight of a couple who maintain an affection and respect for each other, while weaving in a female emancipation narrative which doesn’t trip over clichés and never loses sight of what the story truly wants to reflect—the struggles of a fairly typical and reasonably functional modern family.

Baumbach also leaves some space in the narrative for a certain satirical element, lightly sending up both Hollywood and the New York artistic community in short bursts. He also shines a scathing spotlight on the absurd and corrosive intricacies of American divorce law, particularly in the state of California, sharply personified by the relentless lawyers so expertly portrayed by Laura Dern and Ray Liotta, not to mention the attempt to inject humanity into the system by screen legend Alan Alda.

The core of the film is of course the Bamber family, and the trio of stars who bring them to life and capture our hearts are in rare form here. Adam Driver delivers arguably the most nuanced and heartfelt performance of his career so far and is the energy of the piece as the doting father and well-meaning husband, who fails to recognise his self-centred ways and sees his world pulled apart, while as the heart of the movie Scarlett Johansson shines as the mother and professional yearning to reclaim her identity and walk her own path. Both combine with the adorable Azhy Robertson’s impressive turn as their young son to form the film’s soul—suffering and struggling with grace and restraint . . . apart from one glorious and emotionally truthful breakdown and confrontation scene.

All-in-all, Noah Baumbach’s latest mediation on marriage is a perceptive and compassionate yet realistic and unmelodramatic look at divorce in 21st century America, blending pathos, heartache and heartbreak with levity, charm and whimsy—encapsulated by yet another signature idiosyncratic score from Randy Newman—as comedy and tragedy bleed into each other, as is so often the case in real life. But while this memorable indie drama might leave a light at the end of the divorce tunnel, and prove a champion of familial love and tenderness under any circumstance, it ain’t exactly an advert for the institution of marriage—and its legacy may well be to discourage people from its bondage in the first place.

The Bottom Line…

Equal parts poignant and charming, heart-breaking and heart-warming, with ‘Marriage Story’ Noah Baumbach takes a sober but compassionate look at the nuance of marriage and the corrosive complexities of divorce, weaving them together with his signature perceptive idiosyncrasy and some sterling performances—leaving us questioning the institution of marriage, but introducing us to a modern relatable 21st century family we can’t help but love.

‘Marriage Story’ is out on the 6th of December on Netflix.

Similar films you may like (Home Video)

Kramer vs. Kramer (1979)

After leaving her workaholic husband and their young son to pursue her own ambitions, a mother returns to her estranged New York family to reclaim her boy, as an ugly custody battle ensues and former spouses engage in a lawyer-fuelled character assassination war which threatens to further tear apart their family, forcing them into a compromise and newfound maturity.

Directed by Robert Benton and starring Dustin Hoffman, Meryl Streep and Justin Henry among others.

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