Scarlett Johansson’s Nicole screams. Charlie (Adam Driver) punches a wall. During this heated exchange, it could be easy to see Marriage Story as yet more overplayed Oscar-bait; a modern-day white couple, both with some aspect of fame from their tenure in theatre and film, working through a nasty marital split. It isn’t the most ground-breaking material. Kramer vs. Kramer did the whole divorce drama, and it did it well. But Marriage Story doesn’t just shake up the reverse rom-com, it shatters it and rebuilds it piece by jagged piece.

Charlie is a theatre director in New York City and Nicole is a screen actress based out of LA. The film plucks apart a couple in marital turmoil that decide, in the best interest of their young son Henry (Azhy Robertson), to separate amicably. However, in the substantial deterioration of their marriage, their trust in one another also collapses. The beginning is testament to this; opening on the couple delivering empowered statements about the other, only for it to mould into something else. They’re in therapy. The loving words are just that: praise they have been made to shower on each other.

This milieu of unpredictability and escalation flitters throughout each scene. It is this teetering between good and bad, right and wrong, that Noah Baumbach rolls out his film with an authenticity that only the most careful craftsmen can achieve.

Admittedly calling on his own experiences of his separating parents, and his own divorce in 2013, Baumbach cements Marriage Story in a ripe immediacy that never loses its footing once over the more than two hour run time. It’s the tenth outing for Baumbach as director and solidifies his presence as not just a talented filmmaker but a leading storyteller. In a year awash with Hollywood blockbusters, it is by no means a small feat for Marriage Story to stand amidst the noise and make its voice heard.

Johansson and Driver give standout performances as the Barbers. Johansson’s Nicole is like a firework; steady and streamlined until the moment she ignites and explodes in a tirade of cursing and shouting. Driver’s Charlie is more laid back. He bumbles around, always having something to say but never the right words to say it. Their relationship is like a jigsaw puzzle. Pieces of their lives are trying and failing to jam together. Occasionally, there’s a soft pop of something clicking together and part of the picture is realised. It doesn’t last long though and then the games begin anew in an endless back and forth. What works well is that both characters are on even footing. There isn’t a villain in this story but villainous things still happen.

And while the denouement never really falters – the relationship is doomed from the off – it’s their performances that capture the heartache of a broken marriage yet the giddiness of the new and unknown. The film is about desperation, both in an attempt to save a love already diminished and also to find a place for their own self-worth.

The supporting cast is equally impressive. Laura Dern shines as Nicole’s resilient lawyer Nora Fanshaw, while Ray Liotta plays Charlie’s attorney, Jay Marotta. Dern seems to have embodied some of the energy left over from her turn as Renata in Big Little Lies; she’s punchy and vibrant, injecting a necessary spark into the film’s legal proceedings. The actress is a pillar in a film that always feels like it’s going to come tumbling down, and Baumbach gives her striking monologues and arresting one-liners in his genius script.

“I thought we agreed we weren’t going to use lawyers,” says Charlie. “I want an entirely different kind of life,” Nicole responds. With a screenplay as rich as Baumbach’s, it is in his snappy use of dialogue and his characters’ complex personalities that gives Marriage Story its truth. Sometimes there are moments of hilarity strewn through the fighting. Sometimes a slanderous outburst can fall flat. It’s this raw honesty and the unrelenting need to be heard that Baumbach captures in his script. In as much as Marriage Story is about divorce, it also serves as a callout for taking risks and simmering down life’s distractions to make the most out of being present. It’s messy and piercing all at once and yet never feels overtired and heavy.

The lightness of Baumbach’s screenplay is reflected in Randy Newman’s score. The Academy Award winner’s original music is gentle yet all consuming. A soft almost coy soundtrack seems to wrap around and trail through each scene as opposed to playing over it. It is reminiscent of his work on Toy Story, but when joined with a killer script and fiery leads, the music Newman has crafted stands up for itself as a fully unique body of work. It’s romantic and sweet; full of yearning and hope.

Marriage Story is a scathing reminder of how dirty divorce is. Charlie and Nicole both say and do hurtful things. And yet, you cannot help but root for them. A dose of Stephen Sondheim elevates the final few moments in a touching performance by Driver, mirroring an earlier outburst by Nicole at a family party. It’s confidently written, with a view to brevity and performers who crackle and pop under the inspired framing of The Favourite cinematographer Robbie Ryan.

In all of its tempestuous brilliance, Marriage Story is about being, well and truly, alive.

What did you think of Marriage Story? Tell us in the comments below!

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There is an argument to be made in Noah Baumbach’s Oscar-nominated drama ‘Marriage Story’ that neither Charlie nor Nicole are especially good people, but they are certainly sympathetic. Even when they are sinking to new lows, making things pettier and harder for each other, we find ourselves only wanting to draw closer and entangle ourselves in their messy, awkward lives. Especially when it comes to the central conflict of the film, neither of them are completely at fault – the only real antagonist in ‘Marriage Story’ is the divorce process, which is conducted more like a business transaction than a personal affair.

Once the lawyers get involved, the divorce starts to turn into a contest of who can emerge with more dignity intact. Somehow there is an expectation that none of this should be personal, but it absolutely is. Material possessions are completely irrelevant, but instead what is at stake is something far more central to our humanity and self-worth. Everything about Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson’s performances is vulnerable, drawing on a common longing for stability and anger directed at those who threaten it.

What is wonderful about ‘Marriage Story’ as an exploration of divorce isn’t just that we see how much the two repel each other, but that it is equally clear how they once fell in love and worked together as a couple. As romantic and professional partners, Nicole and Charlie share common interests and make up for each other’s shortcomings, illustrated in the opening sequence. Contempt is meaningless on its own, but by peeling back the layers to reveal the genuinely loving relationship it mutated from, the impact is even more devastating.

At first it appears that Baumbach isn’t doing a great deal of visually interesting work with the camera, especially since a lot of the colours are muted, but it is in his blocking of the actors within dialogue heavy scenes that he demonstrates his ability to weave a comfortable domesticity into even the tensest moments. When the characters air their frustrations, they use their actions almost as distractions, moving through their homes performing menial chores, and grounding themselves in the familiar even as they traverse new, difficult territory. The camera peeks at them through doors and glides with them down hallways, making us feel at home with Charlie and Nicole, and letting the growing tension become even more personal.

In one particular scene towards the end, movement is stripped back and the stillness of the actors becomes deeply uncomfortable. Charlie forces the appearance of a responsible relationship with his son, Henry, to impress a family-court evaluator, and yet in doing so he is suppressing their usual organic interactions. He no longer inhabits his home comfortably, and the fluidity that the rest of the film thrives off is suddenly gone, replaced with a stilted politeness. The idea that the insertion of bureaucracies into private lives is the death of naturalism and compassion pervades ‘Marriage Story’, and Baumbach’s direction of his actors to convey this is brilliantly effective.

The six nominations that ‘Marriage Story’ has received are mostly well deserved. The exception here is the nomination for Randy Newman’s score, which doesn’t add any depth or emotion to the film that isn’t already present in the performances or screenplay. Laura Dern is a clear frontrunner for Best Supporting Actress, and though it is unlikely that they will win in their respective categories, both Driver and Johansson are deserving of their own acting awards too. The autobiographical element of ‘Marriage Story’ may have provided a basis for Baumbach to shape this story into something personally meaningful, but it is his masterful cast direction and naturalistic dialogue that makes it such a rich, engaging experience for audiences.

What do you think about Marriage Story being nominated? Tell us in the comments below!

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Baumbach drew from personal experience as a child of divorce to help write the script.

“I came at it from a personal place, for sure, as I’m the child of divorce and I’ve been through a divorce as an adult. But divorce is something so many families go through, and I thought it would be an important and interesting topic to explore in an expansive way.”

“I did a lot of research for the movie. I spoke to lawyers and mediators, and I’d present scenarios and ask, “What would you do in a case like this? “What would a judge say here?” And I spoke with friends of mine, many of whom were women, about their experiences with divorce. These conversations were often revelatory and helped shape the story.”

The film stars Scarlett Johansson (Avengers), Adam Driver (Star Wars: The Force Awakens), Laura Dern (Big Little Lies), Alan Alda (MASH), and Ray Liotta (Goodfellas).

Marriage Story hits Netflix on December 6th 2019.

Will you be watching Marriage Story? Tell us in the comments below!

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Also hitting theatres is Jumanji: The Next Level, Bombshell, Black Christmas, Little Women, and Spies In Disguise.

As for streaming services, Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones star in The Aeronauts on Prime Video, while Ryan Reynolds stars in 6 Underground, Scarlett Johansson in Marriage Story, Anthony Hopkins in The Two Popes, and the latest A Christmas Prince movie are all coming to Netflix!

Cats

A tribe of cats called the Jellicles must decide yearly which one will ascend to the Heaviside Layer and come back to a new Jellicle life. Starring Idris Elba (Luther), Ian McKellen (The Lord of the Rings), Rebel Wilson (Pitch Perfect), and Judi Dench (Skyfall).

The Aeronauts

Pilot Amelia Wren and scientist James Glaisher find themselves in an epic fight for survival while attempting to make discoveries in a gas balloon. Starring Felicity Jones (The Theory of Everything), Eddie Redmayne (Fantastic Beasts), and Himesh Patel (Yesterday).

A Christmas Prince: The Royal Baby

It’s Christmastime in Aldovia, and a royal baby is on the way. Amber and Richard host royals from a distant kingdom to renew a sacred truce, but when the treaty vanishes, peace is jeopardized and an ancient curse threatens their family. Starring Rose McIver and Ben Lamb.

Jumanji: The Next Level

In Jumanji: The Next Level, the gang is back but the game has changed. As they return to rescue one of their own, the players will have to brave parts unknown from arid deserts to snowy mountains, to escape the world’s most dangerous game. Starring Dwayne Johnson, Jack Black, Kevin Hart, and Karen Gillan.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

The surviving Resistance faces the First Order once more in the final chapter of the Skywalker saga. Starring Anthony Daniels, Billy Dee Williams, Keri Russell, Oscar Isaac, Jimmy Vee, Adam Driver, John Boyega, Kelly Marie Tran, Daisy Ridley, and Naomi Ackie.

6 Underground

Meet a new kind of action hero. Six untraceable agents, totally off the grid. They’ve buried their pasts so they can change the future. Starring Ryan Reynolds (Deadpool), Adria Arjona (Good Omens), Dave Franco (Now You See Me), and Mélanie Laurent (Inglourious Basterds).

Bombshell

A group of women decide to take on Fox News head Roger Ailes and the toxic atmosphere he presided over at the network. Starring Nicole Kidman (Moulin Rouge), Margot Robbie (Suicide Squad), and Charlize Theron (Mad Max: Fury Road).

Spies in Disguise

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