Staring Adam Driver, Scarlett Johansson, Laura Dern and more.
Marriage Story (2019) is an Academy Award nominated film that is directed and written by Noah Baumbach. It tells the story of a married couple, Charlie and Nicole, who love each other deeply. But they have some irreconcilable differences. Their wants and needs contrast, so they cannot seem to agree on their future. The film focuses on their love for each other, as well as their need/want to move on.
Movie Talk
This film has been largely talked about by many people in the industry. It is widely praised and was nominated for many different awards. The movie starts by telling the audience an abundance of information they will need to know to understand the story. The characters are alive, as if you know them in real life. They are round, not static, and are unpredictable, like friends and family truly are.
Harsh, emotional moments are coupled with humorous insults and upbeat music. These tinges of happiness keep the audience’s attention and allow the film to have a happy tone, even if there are heavy emotions involved. That being said, I found this story beautiful, but slow at times. I recognize that I am not the key demographic for this film, as I am a young adult and cannot closely relate to many of the focus topics of the characters.
My Favorite Scenes
One of the moments that hurt my heart the most was when a woman came to observe Charlie and his son, Henry. After the woman leaves, Henry asks Charlie if the lady liked them. At this point, Charlie is laying on the ground bleeding from a cut on his arm, but Charlie still assures his son that everything is ok. This hurt. Charlie being strong for his son. The cut on Charlie’s arm representing his emotional pain. This scene was one of the most memorable in the film. Good job Adam Driver, you really can do anything. However, I do think that the singing scene of Charlie’s was a little too long. I wish it was a bit shorter. But, I also am not a fan of musicals, so maybe that is why I have that opinion.
Another moment that stood out to me was when Charlie stood in the foyer of his ex-mother-in-law’s house and all of the bedroom doors were shut. Here he realizes all of the pictures in the frames hanging on the wall have been changed so they no longer include him. Sad, very sad. Poor Charlie. I wanted to hug him in this moment, but that would be weird because he is a fictional character.
Overall, I thought this film was ok. I think it could have been shorter, more focused and had the same effect. The story huddled together true emotion and realistic situations, and for that I applaud it. The story-telling is strong, and my favorite part is probably the dialogue. This is due partly to it’s delivery and partly to how it is written. Noah is a fantastic writer.
Highlights / What to think about:
One of the sayings that stood out to me in this film was, “You wanted it until you didn’t.” Take a second to think about that. Can you relate this to your life? Is it true? I can relate to it, maybe not in the same way the characters in this film can, but that does not make my feelings any less real.
Watch this film: 7
Although, I liked the depth of the characters and the creativity of the scenes, dialogue and directing, I could not extensively connect to this film. I place this largely on the fact that I have not been in a situation like Charlie’s and Nicole’s. Maybe when I am older, I will watch this film and understand it deeper, feel the feelings stronger and more powerfully. But for now, I will admire the thought that went into every scene, every moment, each of the characters’ traits. I am interested in what you thought of this film, let me know in the comments!
You can watch this film on Netflix, read about it on IMDb or watch the trailer on YouTube. The picture in this post is from Netflix.
Quick! Describe the film in 1 sentence! (aka sentence summary)
Charlie and Nicole have dreams that could have been used to keep them together and strong, but instead they drove them apart.
Sad, happy, fun, everything with up-beat music to mix up the tone and keep it all as light as possible. I am glad I watched this film, I learned a lot. If you get a chance to watch it too, I think you will learn some things, or at the very least, begin to understand a new perspective.
Have a great day! Spend some time with the people you love.
P.S. In that final scene where Nicole goes to tie Charlie’s shoe, I cried. It was such a beautiful moment, I cannot believe I forgot to mention it in this post. But, this film is full of beautiful moments, I could not have mentioned them all.
Arianna xx
Aloha Arianna 