Marriage Story (2019)
Stars: Scarlett Johansson, Adam Driver, Merritt Wever
Runtime: 136 minutes
Synopsis: Noah Baumbach's incisive and compassionate look at a marriage breaking up and a family staying together.
Performances: 10/10
Screenplay: 9/10
Editing: 8/10
Cinematography: 8/10
Score/Soundtrack: 9/10
Verdict: Netflix has blessed me this year with the two movies I responded emotionally to most: "Paddleton" and now "Marriage Story", which is a deep look at the ugliness of divorce, in part based on director Noah Baumbach's own separation from then wife Jennifer Jason Leigh back in 2013.
That movie absolutely broke me, and recovering from it will not be an easy process. We've all been through heartbreaks, and we all cope with them in different ways. But at their core, most of them have the same blueprint. And that blueprint is at the center of what I personally believe is Noah Baumbach's best and most relatable film to date. The script and dialogue are perfect, the cinematography is breathtaking, and the score by Randy Newman is melancholic yet beautiful like the movie itself. Scarlett Johansson easily gives her best performance in quite a while, but Adam Driver proved once and for all that he indeed is one of the best actors of his generation as suggested by Martin Scorsese himself. I never felt for a second that I was watching fictional characters interact, and without such incredible chemistry and emotional range, the movie wouldn't have worked as much as it did. In fact, one particular heated exchange between the characters, while heartbreaking to see unfold, might be one of my favorite scenes of the entire year as I truly felt every single word uttered by the two protagonists with resounding power.
"Marriage Story" will definitely and deservedly be a front-runner at next year's Academy Awards. I predicted a while ago that it was even going to win the award for Best Picture, and having seen it now, I wouldn't be surprised if my prediction came true.
That movie absolutely broke me, and recovering from it will not be an easy process. We've all been through heartbreaks, and we all cope with them in different ways. But at their core, most of them have the same blueprint. And that blueprint is at the center of what I personally believe is Noah Baumbach's best and most relatable film to date. The script and dialogue are perfect, the cinematography is breathtaking, and the score by Randy Newman is melancholic yet beautiful like the movie itself. Scarlett Johansson easily gives her best performance in quite a while, but Adam Driver proved once and for all that he indeed is one of the best actors of his generation as suggested by Martin Scorsese himself. I never felt for a second that I was watching fictional characters interact, and without such incredible chemistry and emotional range, the movie wouldn't have worked as much as it did. In fact, one particular heated exchange between the characters, while heartbreaking to see unfold, might be one of my favorite scenes of the entire year as I truly felt every single word uttered by the two protagonists with resounding power.
"Marriage Story" will definitely and deservedly be a front-runner at next year's Academy Awards. I predicted a while ago that it was even going to win the award for Best Picture, and having seen it now, I wouldn't be surprised if my prediction came true.
FINAL GRADE: 9/10
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