Marriage Story

The downfall of relationships as a topic of a movie is quite an interesting subject to approach. Those types of stories aren't a group that I approach regularly but I'm aware of their existence. One of the famous movies that's referenced the most in regards to divorce media is the legal dram Kramer vs Kramer (1979), which saw two separating parents (Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Streep) entering a custody battle for their son. I haven't seen this but it's usually the first thing that comes to mind with this content...at least until that changed in 2019. This brings us to a drama dealing with similar circumstances but in a modern age with Marriage Story, which was written and directed by Noah Baumbach (who went through that process with his first wife Jennifer Jason Leigh). There was a lot of awards buzz surrounding this feature and it had a limited theatrical run before becoming available on its main distributer Netflix. I didn't look at the trailers so that I would have a fresh blind experience with it and after I was done watching it, it left me incredibly impressed that it wasn't as depressing as it could have been but was respectfully realistic for many people to draw lessons from.

What's it about? The story follows a couple growing distant that end up undergoing a coast-to-coast divorce process. If there's anything anyone can learn from this whether they are single or in a relationship, it's how important communication is with maintaining a sustainable bond. The drama displayed here isn't over exaggerated but opts to show the kind of bubbling tensions that can lead to tumultuous legal processes. Both of these leading protagonists are given fair treatment in their respective written characters in where their faults lie and neither are painted as negative to root against. The harsh reality of the legal process is rough to look at since all it does it add more gasoline than necessary to the impending argument between these two former lovers attempting to be civil with each other for their son's sake. In regards to the stakes of the situation, the impact of the issue doesn't become serious until the second third of the film and has some moments of levity to keep things calm until then.

How are the actors? The leading actors to focus on here are Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson. Adam gives one of his greatest performances of his career as he finds a balance at displaying his characters likability and the worst side that emerges during stressful moments later on. Scarlett (who had a strong 2019) has probably her best acting in her career as well as she's amazing in making her role a type people can relate to in strong standout scenes (particularly a monologue) as someone attempting move forward for themselves. The on-screen chemistry between both of them is astounding to both their talents and the direction in creating a believability that's engaging and heartbreaking to watch (insert joke about Kylo Ren going through a divorce with Black Widow here). Honorable mentions go to Laura Dern, Alan Alda, and Ray Liotta for their respective performances in strong legal scenes that allow them to handle the material seamlessly in their personality types here.

Overall Consensus: Marriage Story excels in delivering relatable relationship advice in a drama that's bolstered by amazing acting, a strong script, and respectful realism towards its subject matter. ⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑🍿 Runtime: 2 hours 16 minutes R

Reasons to watch it: You are a fan of the aforementioned actors and/or director Noah Baumbach. You enjoy bittersweet dramas about relationships with lessons about the importance of communication. You want to see realistic depiction of the legal process involving child custody (or as close as media will allow) where the spouses in question are likable and aren't treated as the bad guy. You don't mind a slightly annoying child in the middle of a family drama.

Reasons to avoid it: You aren't a fan of the aforementioned actors and/or director Noah Baumbach. You dislike bittersweet dramas about relationships. You don't media depictions of the harsh legal process involving child custody.