Marriage Story (2019, R)

And we’re off! As many Oscar-movie reviews (and a few maybe-shoulda-been-Oscar-movie reviews) as we can fit in before the ceremony – of course, I already got a head start. This first spate of posts will be about movies I saw prior to the nominations coming out, although I’m only writing the reviews now so I’ll take the nominations into consideration in my write-ups (premise spoilers.)

Nicole and Charlie are on the precipice of a divorce. For years, it’s always been the two of them and their son Henry, former teen-movie star Nicole acting in Charlie’s increasingly-acclaimed avant-garde plays, but now things have come to a head. Nicole realizes that her only way to reclaim the self she’s lost through a decade of living for Charlie’s dreams is to go after what she wants, and Charlie doesn’t know what to do when the easy, amiable split he anticipated demands more of him than he would’ve thought, upending in life in ways he didn’t expect.

Discussion of this movie has divided somewhat into “Team Charlie” and “Team Nicole” camps, and there’s a lot of talk over whether writer/director Noah Baumbach put the thumb on Charlie’s scale, sympathy-wise, when it comes to this story that was inspired by events from his own life. To be sure, Charlie is hit hard by the progress of the divorce, baffled by the emergence of Nicole’s high-powered lawyer and terrified that Nicole is trying to remove his son from him. And you do feel for the guy as he goes through that, but you also understand how he’s blindsided in large part because he never saw the problems that were already there. He went along thinking everything was fine because he kept getting everything he wanted, it seemingly never occurring to him that his wife might want something that was hers. (That said, the movie definitely seems to pull its punches on the implications of some of Charlie’s actions.)

Nicole is in a similar position, sympathy balanced with flaws. Her monologue in her initial meeting with her lawyer, attempting to explain “what happened” with Charlie, is a powerhouse, an expression of pent-up longing for her own sense of self. At the same time, while it’s understandable that she’s pushed toward getting a shark of a lawyer (having experienced Charlie almost effortlessly getting his way throughout their marriage, she can’t break with him in order to live her own life only to divorce entirely on his terms,) it’s also what kicks off the escalation of the divorce, which quickly gets very ugly, expensive, and complicated. I can also see arguments that, in finally pursuing what she wants, she does seem to consciously make it more difficult for Charlie to spend time with Henry, in situations that don’t call for it, and that’s not fair to any of them.

Overall, the film really excels at showing how 1) divorce can bring out the worst in people, but 2) no matter how bad it gets, it doesn’t take away from or negate the love that was there once. I love the little moments that crop up, even amidst the animosity, that show how well Nicole and Charlie know each other, and the opening “what I love about Nicole/Charlie” sequences are superbly done.

Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson both do excellent work as Charlie and Nicole, more than earning their Leading Actor/Actress nominations. I’ve been a fan of Driver’s wonderfully-subtle acting for a few years now, and he really brings it here, and Johansson beautifully depicts a woman pushing to get out from under her life of quiet desperation. Laura Dern also snagged a Supporting Actress nod (and, at the moment, seems the favorite to win) as Nicole’s lawyer Nora, very effective in what could’ve been a pretty straightforward role. The film also features Alan Alda and Wallace Shawn in small roles, and there’s a quick appearance from Jasmine Cephas Jones, Peggy Schuyler/Maria Reynolds from Hamilton.

Oh, and this film contains, not one, but two performances of songs from Company, both executed magnificently within the thematic context of the story. Love it!

As far as the Oscars go, this is probably a medium-weight film. It has six nominations in all, but they’re mostly major ones. In addition to Best Picture and its three acting nominations, it’s also up for Original Screenplay and Best Score.

Warnings

Language, sexual content, drinking/drug references, brief violence, and thematic elements.