"This movie gets divorse so that you don't have to".
London Film Festival. So I actually saw Noah's new film on the big screen in advance.
Personally, I think it is Noah Baumbach's best movie, higher than The Squid and the Whale, and higher than Frances Ha.
I remember the first time in 2010 when I saw the tabloid that Jennifer Jason Leigh files divorce from Noah Baumbach, very surprised. Back then, Noah praised Greta in an interview promoting Greenberg, he said, Greta came to our apartment to audition for the role of Florence. She was SO good immediately, that part of me just wanted to shoot her then.
At that time, as a fan, I didn't know what to say, I could only sigh. Then Frances Ha came out and I felt the freshness, so drastically different from the bitterness or bleakness in Greenberg or Margot at the Wedding. I thought, Noah has found a new muse. Good for him. Of course, who wouldn't love such as person as Greta.
It seems like after their divorce finally settled, maybe 2013, Noah said, maybe some day there will be a film about this.
I was like, wow, that's so personal. It is estimated that we will have to wait until the feelings are settled before we can shoot.
The result came so quickly. There were three other films in between, While We're Young, Mistress America, and The Meyerowitz Stories. Noah is still a workaholic.
I'm so moved that the tone of Marriage Story is so warm, there is a lot of love. I can see the conflict. But I don't see any bitterness.
And Noah's perspective on both characters is fair. Although it seems that the real hardships Charlie has experienced are more specific (finding a lawyer, flying in New York and LA, arranging houses, etc.), it can be felt that he appreciates and sympathizes with Nicole's character.
The list of what I love about Charlie/Nicole at the beginning is so beautiful and echoes at the end. Noah's screenplay and characters are superb.
Both actors are great. I think Adam Driver is better, seriously. Both were brilliant. Everyone is a dazzling star in their own universe. However, when two people are together, there will always be a star that is a little dim and cannot shine uniquely. Noah is using divorce stories to explore marriage, and the he/she narrative within it.
To be honest, I think Charlie's character is a bit arrogant, and Nicole is a much more selfless person. I still appreciate Noah's understanding of women. Laura Dern's monologue about society's unfair expectations of women/mothers is brilliant.
What I love most about Noah is his sense of humor and details: Adam Driver's Halloween costume, his accidental injury, his embarrassment with his parking ticket, etc. Wallace Shawn's joke is ridiculous. Hahaha. Many details are more enjoyable for those who are interested. What taking Tony at 27 will mess you up - Noah was 26 when he made his first movie. Charlie's theatre company is called Exit Ghost - Noah is referencing his beloved author Philip Roth. The first time they met was when Nicole met Charlie on a trip to New York to see a play - which is also the story of how Jennifer and Noah met. There's a framed magazine article on the wall at Nicole's mother's house called Scenes from a marriage—and NYmagazine does have an article about the two of them in 2007 called Scenes from an indie marriage.
Noah used Sondheim's Company and it couldn't be more appropriate. I think he must have wanted to use this for a long time.
The only thing I didn't like that much was the scene where the two were really nasty. Is this really going to be the case? They are all very civilized and rational people, but they say such ugly and hurtful things. Maybe Noah felt the divorce without the outbursts was unreal. I think he is right. But personally I think this scene is a bit way over the top.
This is a very modern divorce. In order to realize oneself and pursue another life, one can only put love on hold. Compared with many things, love is not so important. Like Nicole wrote, I'll never stop loving him, even though it doesn't make sense anymore.
October 2019
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