Marriage Story

Marriage Story is one of the most beautiful, heartbreaking and frustrating films ever made.

The film begins with both the husband and wife verbally articulating all the positives they see in each other. It's heartwarmingly descriptive, until you realize they're both at the bleeding end of their marriage, sitting in a therapist's office trying to work things out. After all the positives mentioned, what could have gone wrong that led these two right through the divorce door? Noah Baumbach's 2019 feature explores just that.

Yes, this is a romance tragedy sharing the same paint brush Amour and Blue Valentine used, to tell how it all started and ended for a seemingly perfect couple. You are dripfed information at a steady pace. While at first it feels like it's out-of-character for Charlie (Adam Driver) to sleep with another woman, as the story goes by you'll understand why it occurred and how that's the breaking point that pushed Nicole (Scarlett Johansson) to go this hardest route. Noah Baumbach's naturally comedic screenplay gives you a constant dim hope for the couple to see past everything and not proceed with the divorce, but you'll see how bringing in a third party into a marriage aka lawyers pry the gap between the married ones, damaging their communication to an unrecoverable state. The positive note each wrote about the other paying off in the end is extremely sad and emotional! And Charlie singing 'Being Alive' is a flawless catharsis!

For anyone who's planning on marriage or divorce, especially in North America, this motion picture is a must-watch. You'll get to see the nightmare it is the legal procedure of getting divorced. What a devastating shitshow! The pain on top of the expenses and taxing process is super unbearable, and there's plenty of opportunity to witness it through the couples' eyes, especially Charlie. Being cornered to find a lawyer in Los Angeles his spouse has yet to meet while dealing with his kid on 'Mommy phase' and having to sit through an invigilator observing his private time with his son including the accidental 'knife' thing are some of the best scenes in Marriage Story!

Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver gave one of their career best performances here! Nicole walking around the lawyer office to explain her side of things and the one major quarrel between the couple that results in a hole-through-the-wall are some of the instances you'll see the skills at avail here! It's not always loud and bombastic, when actually it is quiet for most of the time. Nicole's little startle signifying "Maybe, I could have waited…" when Charlie tells her he's moving into Los Angeles is an example! The overall casting is solid as well. Nora's (Laura Dern) speech about how mothers have to be the gold standard whereas the same doesn't apply to fathers is a moment to watch out for. Technicality wise, Randy Newman's score and Robbie Ryan's camerawork are both sweet!