'Marriage Story' Review: Unnerving emotions takes center-stage in this raw and boldly truthful portrayal of divorce
Noah Baumbach's 'Marriage Story' manages to echo the actual sentiments of people separating away from what they are used to having so close and dear. "What you're going through now is horrible, but it will be over" is the raw stage that the story sets itself on - pun intended.
The 'real' behind a divorce was clearly directed with each part of the couple given the spotlight to uphold or demean their own feelings. Each character has a part to play in the story of Charlie and Nicole unfolding while they were trying to understand how to tip-toe around life outside of each other while co-parenting their son, Henry (Azhy Robertson), together.
The movie has a brisk wind of comedy from an insider's view of the road to separation, with drama unexpectedly popping up in naive parts of the story. Academy Awards nominee Noah Baumbach - who directs the movie - told Indiewire, "Because I’ve gone through a divorce and also been through it as a child, there are things from my experience that of course, I could draw from. But it also gave me a real opportunity to talk to friends of mine. I mean, so many people have gone through this experience, and it’s not spoken about a lot."
Divorce has been portrayed many times from the perspective of entertainment media, from ego-driven couples, dragged out court cases and the exploration of vices to drown feelings. 'Marriage Story' brings in the individuality in a divorce battle, drawing the audience into the crux of what seems to be a rather sanity challenging divorce.
Adam Driver portrays Charlie Barber, a brilliant director in the world of Broadway theatre who had a vision of the capabilities of what his wife was and is now seeing a side of her that is - for lack of better words - kindly malicious. Navigating from comfortable family life to lawyers trying to bring a divorce he does not want to fruition, he moves at an unfamiliar pace. He seems to be dimming in his personal affairs, as Nicole comprehends that he is the highlight of their union marking the start of their divorce chessboard moves.
Nicole Barber, played by the impeccable Scarlett Johanson who is a star player in her husband's theatre, has narrated lines in the movie that sounds like she was reading from the diary of a broken woman. Most don't show their true feelings while trying to one-up their ex in a divorce, but Nicole digs in deep realizing that Charlie doesn't see her as 'something separate' but as an extension of what he perceived to be a well-oiled relationship.
Fighting through your demons while nursing innocence is a hard burden to carry, and this movie takes you through the journey of the riddles that is co-parenting. "Getting a divorce with a kid involved is 'like death without a body" is what Charlie's lawyer tells him stating "many people fight for that time (time with their children) and then don't even use it, they just want to win."
There is an assumption that talk of amicability during the divorce would actually stick disregarding the outside pressure of laws that must be upheld, lawyers that work tirelessly fighting for a fat check, and a son that is barely comprehending the importance of taking sides.
The actors fine tune their characters to deliver respectful yet grave frustration - with a line or two that might have gone too far - exactly how you would assume it to happen off-screens. With purposeful exaggeration and coyness, the raw dialogues and soothing music portrays the personal world of two individuals who heavily correlated the success of their marriage to their careers.
The start of the movie has Charlie and Nicole expressing what they loved about each other with the scene ending at a mediator's office. The details of these personal letters were quirky ideals that most would 'aww' at but it set a tone of how much people are willing to hide when they're trying to save themselves from losing their sanity. You see, Nicole didn't want to read her letter, and Charlie claimed he was really good, foreshadowing how he was indifferent to his wife's feelings unless they comply with his own.
The movie is a great view of the tunnel vision that inevitably takes over couples when they go through the emotional trauma of a divorce. Genius direction, dedicated actors and a faux theatrical production, this movie is a warm refresher of how sentiments are often hidden behind unwanted theatrics. You might want to remember the movie is called 'Marriage Story' while the entirety of it revolves around a divorce.