“Sometimes the ending is where the story begins.”
I am truly wrecked, I am unwell, and I’m calling the 1-800-Academy-Awards hotline immediately. Anyone who has ever been in a relationship and lost themselves in their partner will truly relate to Marriage Story.
Welcome to writer/director Noah Baumbach’s Magnus Opus y’all, his most accomplished work yet. Get your popcorn and tissues ready, because you’re in for a roller-coaster ride of emotions.
Thank you to the 30th New Orleans Film Festival for making these tears possible!
Marriage Story is Academy Award nominated filmmaker Noah Baumbach’s incisive and compassionate look at a marriage breaking up and a family staying together. This is career best performances for both leads Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson. I am so proud to see how far they’ve come as actors, and I’m here to campaign for them come Oscar season. (the movie also stars impressive performances by Laura Dern, Julie Hagerty and Ray Liotta).
Comparisons to 1979’s Kramer vs. Kramer are inevitable, but Marriage Story pushes the audience a little further. It’s so unique when you can burst out laughing one scene, and immediately start sobbing the following. This is what Noah Baumbach has done, and my emotional stability is in question.
Baumbach’s 2010 divorce from Jennifer Jason Leigh after the birth of their own child invites an unavoidable autobiographical comparison.
“Divorce is like death in a way,” he said. “When it happens to you, people can speak about it, but no one really wants to speak about it who’s not in it.” He laughed. “I just felt like there was a way to make a movie that was both very much about this subject,” he said, “and also totally transcend it.” via IndieWire
But I don’t want readers to feel deterred from this movie thinking it’s a depressive look at a marriage falling apart, because it’s much more than that.
“There are many hidden genres in the movie: a thriller, a legal procedural, a romantic comedy, a screwball comedy, a tragic love story, even a musical.” Noah Baumbach via Emanuel Levy
The movie also takes a look at how the system of divorce and how it operates can be a total shit show. It shows the layers of how tiny missteps can determine the overall outcome and how divorce can be a race to determine who will get to define the marriage.
Expect the Academy to just start throwing Oscars all over this movie. It deserves it.
On the Screen Reviews 
I can’t wait!!
Send me your review after you see it! I think it comes out in a few weeks/on Netflix in December.
Good review! I didn’t realize there’s an autobiographical comparison which seems pretty brave. I usually like Noah Baumbach’s work.
I’m always up and down with his work, but this one was great! Felt very different from his other work.
Wow you have me hyped! I deal with so many divorces in my job so it’s just heartbreaking to see, great to read the film has some comedy in it!
Definitely has a lot of good comedy…some scenes drag a lot…I’m warning you now…but it’s definitely worth watching, especially for my bb Driver!
I really want to see this as I’m a fan of Noah Baumbach’s work plus to see Scarlett in a performance worthy of her talent as she’s been killing it lately.
You will get the best of ScarJo in this movie guaranteed!
Sweet!!!!
Great review! Compared to the first trailer which was mostly dramatic, the newer one showed a wider range of genres – I didn’t know what to make of the story. But reading Noah’s quote about how it’s a bit of everything narrows my expectations. I’m looking forward to seeing this, especially Adam and Scarlett’s performances.
I’m terrified to see this film. But I know it’s going to be amazing.
Great review! I thought it was an excellent film in unsuspecting ways. It was drier than I thought it would be and in that way it wasn’t depressing.