Marriage Story is a haunting and emotionally devastating tale of a divorce. It portrays the pain of two involved souls during the process. It is raw and real, it hits you hard and effectively. The only message Marriage Story is trying to convey is that divorce is horrible, stay away from it.
Noah Baumbach has created this film with utter perfection. It is a very personal film for him since it is somewhat based on his own divorce. He took it seriously and created a masterpiece. Marriage Story features two of the finest performances of this year and maybe, even of this decade. Scarlet Johansson and Adam Driver are heartbreaking. They make you laugh with them, they make you sob with them. In that “Argument” scene, and you’ll hear about this scene very often for a while because it is incredible. The finest piece of filmmaking, it is so real and natural and emotional, I was having a hard time while watching it. It was heart-rending, thanks to Adam and Scarlet for their impeccable acting.
Marriage Story does not start as an alluring tale of love and then goes to a sad mode. It starts with melancholy and ends with melancholy. In the very beginning of the movie, there’s that scene when Nicole and Charlie are having a normal chat post-separation decision, they’re talking about this theatre play of theirs and as soon as Nicole leaves Charlie’s sight, she crumbles, breaks into tears and that was painful to watch. That is my personal favorite scene from the movie. There’s one monologue about six minutes long, all in one take, where Scarlet Johansson is touching every possible emotion, she’s walking, crying, sniffing, sobbing, eating, giving complements about what she eats, I don’t know how many take it too her but this is a remarkable achievement. I’ve never rated Scarlet Johansson very high as an actress but she surprised me here and the same goes for Adam Driver.
Noah Baumbach made this film around a divorce, a very poignant situation. But there’s no melodrama or other gimmicks, it is just so natural and real. These two people are against each other, but Noah approached this story with a very neutral eye. No one is the villain here, this man and woman are equally responsible for what they are going through. Noah does not want you to judge but rather empathize with these characters.
Film’s screenplay is very well written, despite not being a high octane thriller, this sophisticated drama keeps you tied up with the seat. The screenplay gives you some light-hearted moments, moments you’ll laugh at. Unexpectedly this is quite funny when it wants to be.
Marriage Story is going to be a front-runner in every department this coming Oscars season, I loved Joaquin Phoenix in joker and thought he could be a sure shot winner, but now I think it’s not going to be that easy.
