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Rating: 4.75 out of 5
I wrote about this in my review of Kramer vs. Kramer; one of my biggest fears is divorce. I am terrified that one day my spouse will not want to be with me anymore, or I don’t want to be with them anymore. Divorce is hard on everyone involved, and it can get downright NASTY when kids are involved. Here are some statistics from the United States Census Bureau. The United States has the sixth highest divorce rate in the world, with 40% to 50% of married couples filing for a divorce. Hear that! You have about a 50% chance of getting a divorce. The percentage rises the more time you get married. For the second marriage, it is around 60%, and 73% if you make it to the third marriage. I have said this many times to people I know, “You better get that prenup.” This whole notion of if you get a prenup, then it is a sign that you expect the relationship to fail. Need to protect those assets!
Written and directed by Noah Baumbach, Marriage Story revolves around a couple going through a coast-to-coast divorce. Charlie (Driver) and Nicole (Johansson) have been going to several marital mediations that have failed miserably. The couple lives in New York City, where Charlie is an up-and-coming theatre director while Nicole was a one-time Los Angeles movie actress but now is an actress in Charlie’s shows. Nicole decides to end the pair decade long marriage. With the divorce, life turns nasty for the pair, with the pair’s eight-year-old son, Henry, caught in the middle. When the lawyers come into the fold, things turn even nastier for the pair.
A story about an impending divorce, I wanted to draw similarities to Kramer vs. Kramer. Even though the film has a few similarities, that film leaves out what the mother was going through and primarily shows how the father was dealing with being a single parent. At the time, that film showed a difference as most movies didn’t show a father taking care of a kid and adjusting to a new world he was thrust into. Don’t get me wrong, Kramer vs. Kramer is a great film that should be watched because the court scenes are straight-up intense.
This film showed the two parallel journeys of both parents. The film starts with Charlie and Nicole with a marriage mediator explaining what they liked about each other. We don’t know why they are in marriage counseling, but as the movie progresses, we learn that Nicole is unhappy and used to be a star but faded, and Charlie’s theater and play are about to thrive on Broadway. We also find out that Charlie cheated on Nicole. Nicole takes their son back to Los Angeles when she is offered a starring role in a television pilot.
The story progresses when Nicole serves Charlie divorce papers. At first, Charlie is confused, and the two try to make it amicable. This is when the story gets going and hits a new level that Kramer vs. Kramer didn’t hit. When Nicole hires Nora, she lets all her bent-up feelings out and tells how she feels and vents. It is a touching moment because she really sacrificed most of her life for Charlie, and you see Charlie as a bad guy. When Charlie gets advice, he goes to Jay Marotta but doesn’t want to be cutthroat. He decides to hire Bert, who is way more diplomatic.
The film goes full force when Adam fires Bert and hires Jay. The court scene made my skin crawl and gave me awful feelings because it is the main reason why I don’t want to get a divorce. Watching Nora and Jay go into full character assassination mode just made my stomach turn, but I know it happens often because everyone wants the best deal. I will say that the back-and-forth between Nora and Jay is intense and realistic.
The scene that really made my stomach turn was the argument between Charlie and Nicole. They start off gentle enough and seem peaceful. As the pair talk, things get increasingly heated, and anger shows its ugly face. The venom and hatred that was spewed between the two were gut-wrenching. I have seen some arguments, but this one went to a whole new level because you could see both characters’ pain. Nicole wanted something worth living for, and Charlie explained that he never should’ve gotten married and blamed Nicole. This argument really made Charlie look like a selfish asshole and a majorly narcissistic.
Through all the pain, the movie does an excellent job of showing the transitions between the characters into their new lives. They all seem to be getting along in the end, but the journey for the two main characters was challenging, and they both came out on the other end pretty well. What should be noted is each character’s sacrifices to ensure their son is happy. It was hard initially because each one took the son out for Halloween, and Charlie had to find his own apartment. We forget that the child will be significantly impacted by this divorce.
The acting and performances of this film were outstanding. I applaud everyone in this film because they portrayed, and some seemed to put their personal touches on their characters. I am not a huge of Scarlett Johansson. There is something about her that makes me meh. That is personal feelings. As Nicole, she really brought it, and you could feel Nicole’s pain. I have to give it to Johansson; I enjoyed her performance, and she deserves all the credit in the world.
Adam Driver as Charlie Barber was equally great. Sometimes it takes me a while to see past the Star Wars role, but dude has been great in many other roles, and he brought a new side to this one. The scene where he argues with Nicole is a top-notch excellent performance, and he brought the pain and anger. Along with the performance, he showed Charlie as a sincere but selfish individual.
Laura Dern as Nora Fanshaw was the SHIT!!! She was fantastic. As Nora, she was fierce, strong, powerful, and told it like it was. She deserved her Academy Award because she was that good. I was hesitant and wondered how she won, but she brought her A-game, and she showed that a strong woman shouldn’t be belittled in court and showed high wits in her arguments. You go, Laura Dern!
I highly recommend everyone watch Marriage Story. It is a film that is like Kramer vs. Kramer but takes the marriage and divorce story to a whole new level. The pain and arguments in this film really shows what happens when a marriage breaks down and what the warring parties go through. Driver, Johansson, and Dern are fantastic in their respective roles, and all should be commended on the job that they showed to the world. I’ve said it before, and I will say it again, GET A PRENUP!
