The tale of a married couple going through a bitter divorce,
“Marriage Story” is as emotionally wrenching and devastatingly sad as you’d
assume from the subject matter, but in the hands of smartly acerbic
writer-director Noah Baumbach it’s also full of life
and humanity, and probably a lot funnier than you’d expect.
The couple in the process of breaking up are Charlie (played
by Adam Driver) and Nicole (Scarlett Johansson). He’s the director of an
avant-garde theater company in New York City; she’s an actress, and the star of
most of his productions.
The film begins with twin montages of happier times, as we
hear Nicole and Charlie each name everything that they love about one another
and the life they’ve built together. Those lists turn out to be a mediation
exercise, a suggestion from their counselor to help keep things amicable during
their separation. It also provides us an immediate emotional investment in
their relationship. So we care when the couple descends into a bi-coastal
custody battle after Nicole decides to relocate with their 8-year-old son,
Henry (Azhy Robertson) back to Los Angeles where her
family is, and to pursue the Hollywood career she abandoned early in their
relationship.
Like all of Baumbach’s movies,
“Marriage Story” revolves around a certain brand of privileged, cultured
urbanite. The filmmaker writes what he knows, but that doesn’t prevent him from
prying open his characters’ faults with as much incisive intent as he does
their strengths. The often bewildering legal mechanics of divorce becomes a
source of humor and frustration as Charlie flails through the process, while
Nicole is guided by the advice of her cheerfully ruthless divorce lawyer,
played beautifully by Laura Dern.
Baumbach’s script never attempts to
be a grand statement about the institution of marriage, and it works so well
largely because of its incredible specificity. This isn’t a story about all
marriages, just this one. He’s even-handed in his approach, basically splitting
the film in half as the film devotes its first to Nicole and its second to
Charlie.
Given a pair of rich, complicated characters to play,
Johansson and Driver deliver wonderfully lived-in performances. The filmmaker’s
strong but unflashy direction allows their towering performances to take center
stage.
At the center of the film is the idea that it takes the
tearing apart of a loving relationship for its players to become conscious of
how that relationship worked (or didn’t) in the first place. We’re left with a
clear understanding of why Charlie and Nicole feel their marriage needs to end,
but we grieve because we see what they’re losing as well. This may be a story
about divorce, but it’s always apparent that it’s a love story as well.
This article appears in Nov 27 – Dec 3, 2019.
