I was reluctant to watch Marriage Story, and were it not for the movie’s Best Picture nomination, I probably wouldn’t have. It wouldn’t have been due to any prejudice or animosity against anyone who made it. I like both Scarlett Johansson when she’s in the right roles, and Adam Driver is a reliable actor. I hadn’t really seen anything from Noah Baumbach before, but that wasn’t a problem for me since I like to fill in my gaps, so to speak. No, I was reluctant to watch what was, I had been told, a rather raw and emotional story about a couple divorcing so soon after the finalizing of my own divorce.
Now, to be fair, my own divorce was, all things being equal, rather painless. There were no children or real estate, and we split most things without too much trouble. Really, it was an expense thing, but it was still a recent memory, and I was concerned the divorce depicted in the movie might be something I wouldn’t want to watch as a result. But, well, I didn’t have that problem because whatever I went through was nowhere near as bad as what happens to the main characters in this movie.
The movie opens with a fake-out as voice-overs of Charlie (Driver) and Nicole Barber (Johansson) relate what each likes about the other, painting a potential portrait of a happy marriage. Then we learn these are writing exercises the two were asked to do as part of a marriage counseling session, meant to be read to each other. But Nicole feels self-conscious about hers and declines, and even though Charlie is still interested, the exercise will not go further without both partners participating.
Arguably, this is how the rest of the movie goes. Charlie, a theater director with his own company, wants to stay in New York while actress Nicole wants to return to Los Angeles.to do a TV pilot. Charlie assumes she’ll be back in New York soon because that’s where they live and they can settle the divorce without too much pain. Nicole never really became a New Yorker and wants to pursue her own life, but likewise thinks they can settle the divorce without too much pain. The pair do have a son, Henry, and they do both want what’s best for them.
So, is there a villain here? While both Nicole and Charlie have their flaws, they also both have very understandable motives and desires. Likewise, both want what’s best for Henry. The problem isn’t Nicole or Charlie, but rather their mutual lack of clear communication and the system itself. Nicole gets an attorney first (the brilliant Laura Dern) while Charlie’s first choice (Alan Alda) has a humanizing tone for all involved but somehow seems outclassed, and both pale in comparison to a particularly cutthroat attorney played by Ray Liotta. The whole process brings out the worst in both Charlie and Nicole, leading to some truly hard scenes, understandable given, like any married couple, they both know exactly how to hurt each other while everything drags them closer and closer to all manner of emotional pain and frustration. It’s a system that encourages them to do what they can to hurt each other despite still caring for each other. They just don’t want to stay married.
Baumbach’s story is very true to life. If anything, his script and direction is sometimes a little too on-the-nose. Some speeches seem more theatrical than realistic, but the story told has Nicole and Charlie constantly feeling the other shoe drop as some new detail comes along. Neither of them have really gotten a divorce before, so why should they know how these things work? And when predatory or outright hostile attorneys get involved, it can only get worse while still highlighting the little changes they have to make, like how Charlie’s good relationship with Nicole’s mother (Julie Hagerty) obviously has to change, something that even the older woman doesn’t seem to understand.
As for the performances, both Johansson and Driver are excellent in their respective roles. Neither seems like a villain so much as an uncertain human being. Nicole wants more out of life while Charlie wants to more or less keep things as they are. This is a very human story focused on two very human beings going through what should be a gentle process but instead has turned into a winner-take-all dehumanizing one. It’s sad, funny, and all too familiar in many ways. And it deserved that Best Picture nomination. Check it out sometime. Netflix may have finally figured out how to make movies that can compete with whatever traditional Hollywood is doing.
That said, I did wonder one thing: how old is Henry supposed to be? He looks far too old to need a carseat or to have trouble reading, and yet the movie says he is. That seemed weird to me.
Grade: A-
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