I have been itching to write a 5-star review and this heartbreaking yet hilarious Kramer-vs-Kramer-style divorce drama has come along just in time.
Noah Baumbach’s Marriage Story explores the emotional disintegration of the relationship between actress Nicole (Scarlett Johansson) and theatre director Charlie (Adam Driver) as they grapple with the idea of leading artistic lives independent of one another.
Marriage and divorce are common themes at this year’s London Film Festival. Marriage Story, with its reassuring relatability, easily surpasses other entries that share these themes, like Hope Gap.
Baumbach makes the divorce even harder for us as an audience by devoting equal measures of empathy to both characters, encouraging us to fall in love with each of them. We find ourselves sympathising with Nicole’s desire to explore the full range of her artistic capabilities and also with Charlie’s eagerness to relate to their son in a way that only Nicole manages to do.
The divorce is brought on by Nicole’s discovery (and at first assumption) of Charlie’s affair, yet as an audience it’s hard to feel much animosity towards him. Driver brings charm to the role and brilliantly embodies his grief as we watch his family and livelihood slowly get taken away from him. Out of all of the characters he is the most isolated, physically and emotionally. His emotional breakdown makes up some of the most upsetting scenes in the film.
It is not all heart-break and unhappiness though; Baumbach complements the tension-filled scenes with some cleverly-crafted humorous ones. Nora (Laura Dern), Nicole’s lawyer, furnishes much of the comedy in the film with an appropriate level of passion and grace.
Baumbach’s thoughtful, empathetic, and authentic approach is perhaps what makes this one of the most timeless films of this year; his open-hearted honesty will surely be noticed.
Johansson, Driver, and Baumbach have never been so exquisite and spirited as they are here making Marriage Story an extremely good contender for the awards to come.
