Marriage Story

Marriage Story is the kind of movie that sneaks up on you. As I was watching it I noted how well it was written and acted, but it really hit me emotionally after it was over, as I walked around my apartment in a bit of a fog, taking it all in.

The film, written and directed by Noah Baumbach, is about the end of a marriage. Charlie (Adam Driver) is a theater director, his wife Nicole (Scarlett Johansson) is an actress in his company. They live in New York. She gave up her career as a film actress in L.A. to act in his plays. Now she's tired of living life the way he wants it, and wants to spread her wings. She's taken a role in a TV pilot, and the two are divorcing.

If they were childless you get the impression this would have been a lot easier, but they have an eight-year-old son, Henry. The conflict is where they will live--Driver was under the impression that L.A. was a temporary thing, and that Johansson and son would move back to New York. But she's from L.A., and he's enrolled in school, so Driver sees his role as a father slipping away.

Marriage Story is an X-ray of divorce, as the couple start with the idea that they won't even need lawyers (which is naive). Johansson hires a high-powered lawyer (Laura Dern), and Driver is forced to find his own lawyer. He starts with Alan Alda, who is a bit too mild-mannered. He then goes with the shark-like Ray Liotta. "I needed my own asshole," he tells her. In a court proceeding, the two lawyers shred the couple apart, bringing up the use of alcohol and infidelities. Clearly things have gone too far.

The writing is great, as the dialogue seems perfectly authentic. This is helped by great performances. Johansson has never been better, getting a terrific monologue when she tells her life story to Dern. The climax of the film is a scene in which she comes to Driver to try to work things out, but things escalate out of control until Driver has a meltdown, and things are said that are instantly regretted.

Marriage Story almost bleeds in its intensity (and indeed, Driver will bleed for real before it's over). The film isn't on either parent's side, but one has to feel for certain moments for Driver, such as when his high ambitions for Halloween are dashed by Henry. I think a lot of fathers in divorce go through this, as the mother is the natural dominant parent, and the father strives for equal footing, but can never quite find it.

One thing that I wished had been different--the couple are in the entertainment business. This is said to part autobiographical on Baumbach's part, and they say write what you know, but I think it would have been more interesting had they been in more quotidian professions. As someone who studied theater, I found the scenes of rehearsal interesting, but talk of McArthur grants and Emmys just fueled the characters' narcissism.

But Marriage Story is still an excellent film, and I would imagine anyone who has gone through divorce with a child will find it even more emotionally powerful.