Despite the movie’s title, “Marriage Story” is not a movie that revolves around a healthy and joyful marriage. Instead, this movie centers around divorce and separation. “Marriage Story”, a drama movie written and directed by Noah Baumbach, was released in the United States on December 6, 2019 on Netflix.
The film depicts the deterioration of the marriage of Charlie and Nicole Barber, played by Adam Driver and Scarlet Johansson respectively. The film has garnered critical acclaim from many film critics and has become one of the most talked about movies of 2019. The emotional and realistic film chronicles the downfall of a married couple and their divorce.
“Marriage Story” captures the rawness and realistic perspective on the deterioration of a marriage. Partnered with an emotional script and spectacular performance by both Driver and Johansson, the film has also garnered award nominations and victories in several award shows such as the Golden Globes, the Academy Awards, the Screen Actors Guild Awards and more.
The film is personal and raw and exposes the actualities and plausible realities of an amicable divorce. Instead of depicting the characters in a harsh light, there is a lack of bias in emotion with Charlie and Nicole as both faults are evident within the characters.
Charlie’s coldness and selfishness along with Nicole’s lack of communication with him are what ultimately lead to their downfall as a couple. From looking at the plot on a piece of paper, the plot is seemingly simple, it is a couple going through a divorce and a custodial battle.
Yet, with this “simple” plot, Baumbach employs large amounts of emotion throughout the film, with attention to fine details ranging from the set design and the camera movement. Baumbach’s direction is intricate and focuses on minute details that then add to the larger picture. It is a resonating film that caught the attention of millions of audience members because of its realistic depiction of divorce.
Marriage Story begins with a montage of different clips of Charlie and Nicole, with voice overs done by both Driver and Johansson, respectively. In these voiceovers, both characters share a list of traits they love about one another. It then transitions into a bleak office, revealed to be a couples’ therapy office.
Both characters are flawed within their approaches to the divorce, with preconceived agreements that their divorce would be done without lawyers and that both characters would receive equal seeing opportunities for their son, Henry. Throughout the course of this film, viewers then see the deterioration of the agreements as Nicole decides to enlist the help of a lawyer. Multiple revelations were revealed through this process such as Charlie’s affair with another woman and the disagreement of Nicole’s tv offer in Los Angeles.
The film comes to a heartbreaking, yet fulfilling end, when both characters end their terms amicably and move on with their life, with wavering presence of each other.
Although somber at times, “Marriage Story” is comedic and is not a film tailored for entertainment. It is a film to evoke a rollercoaster of emotions from a viewer through its intensity and heartbreaking scenes, such as the climactic argument of Charlie and Nicole. “Marriage Story” is a film that resonates with its viewers due to the poignant and realistic depiction of the trials and tribulations of not just a divorce, but a relationship in general. “Marriage Story” is a representation of the sad reality of an end of a marriage and the vulnerability it possesses.
