Review of Marriage Story

Marriage Story spins a tale most couples can appreciate, for better or for worse

Noah Baumbach’s “Marriage Story” tells a tale that will feel familiar to the majority of couples whether you’ve never even entertained the idea of divorce or you’ve embraced and endured it, and that is because it’s the rather unremarkable tale of compromise and selfishness in one’s marriage told through the remarkable lens of Broadway and Hollywood success. This simultaneously-released-to-silver-screen-and-streaming (Netflix) darling of critics and award nominators is well-written and authentic in its portrayal of a marriage that is fraying as it is pulled in two directions by a husband and wife who have different wants and needs for each other and themselves. As Noah Baumbach shares his life and a new baby with fellow best screenwriter nominee Greta Gerwig (Little Women), one can’t help but wonder if inspiration is drawn from their two careers and lives more than, say, the stay-at-home mom and a medical supplies salesman. Because the similarity to an average marriage falls apart when you see the bi-coastal support system of family and friends propping up the splitting duo, not to mention the decision they must make between Broadway or Hell-ay as a home-base.

The three leading members (Adam Driver, Scarlett Johansson, and Laura Dern) all received all the nominations Hollywood could dole out but few wins so far, save for Laura Dern in the best supporting role that had me scratching my head. Not because she’s not, you know, Laura Dern good. But because we’ve seen better from her in this very award season in her performances on HBO’s “Big Little Lies” Season 2 and even as the iconic Marmie in Gerwig’s “Little Women.” She had brilliantly-written lines to deliver in “Marriage Story,” and real-life context for delivering them having endured her own public Hollywood divorce only years ago. So did Johansson, from both her blink-and-you-missed-it marriage to Ryan Reynolds ages ago and in her second divorce, which actually happened while she filmed “Marriage Story” (from ex Romain Dauriac with whom she shares a 5-year-old daughter). But I felt ScarJo’s performances in “JoJo Rabbit” and, candidly, “Avengers: Endgame” were more impressive roles than this. The actor who most captivates in “A Marriage Story,” ironically, is the happily married father of one Adam Driver. This felt less like simply a different Driver than Kylo Ren, and a lot more like the Driver of the “Girls” era all grown-up. His performance was the one that moved me to tears. As a married woman, a mom, a feminist, and as the daughter of divorced parents, I expected to feel those “yes! Sisterhood! Men can get away with so much more than women!” lines Dern and Johansson speak more deeply. But perhaps the fact that they were written for women by a man made them less relatable? To me, Johansson typecast as a “muse” with feelings of her own feels like something I’ve seen before. And as I stated earlier, I would pick Dern as Marmie in Gerwig’s “Little Women” or as Renata in “Big Little Lies” (where she’s often passed over in favor of Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon) over this performance.

At least, in real life, we aren’t forced to choose between Gerwig and Baumbach’s work as the Academy must do. For me, “A Marriage Story” is a glamorous version of a story you have heard or seen or lived a million times in real life. If the premise of choosing oneself or one’s marriage strikes too close to your homefront, you may prefer to skip it. If not, the writing and Driver’s performance are to me what made it nomination-worthy but doubtful it takes home the grand prize tomorrow night.

7/10

Brett McKenzie