Marriage Story (2019)

The two main characters' performances are just soporific, not believable and quite actorly. That highly-acclaimed fight scene between the couple should be reexamined by the film critics: their progress and transition of emotions are just messy, not natural and pseudo-woody-allen.

Honestly all the other actors and actresses did a better job, the two lawyers, Scarlett's mom and sister, and even the eccentric family-oberserving lady, all interesting roles to watch.

Fmovies: Noah Baumbach has always had a knack for portraying the mundanity of life with such great detail and grace, and Marriage Story is yet another melodrama that shows how skillful he is.

Marriage Story is a delicate dance of paradoxical emotions, weaving together themes of love, loneliness, heartbreak, and regret in such a manner that perfectly reflects the imperfect nature of human relationships.

Adam Driver kills as Charlie, but Scarlett Johansson destroys as Nicole. Their performances are as intertwined as they are fragmented, and they bounce off each other with effortless chemistry.

Marriage Story is a powerhouse of craft on all fronts. It is completely arresting and intimate. Baumbach reminds us how delicate love is, and that - amidst all the chaos that comes with it - there can always be beauty even in despondency and heartbreak.

The movie the attorneys didn't want to be made.

In which a loving but separating couple (played by Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson) blow any possibility of a harmonious separation by bringing in their legal aides.

It's a sad old movie in which the couple's divorce seesaws from still best friends to raging monsters. Their natural inclination seems to favour behaviour at the friendlier end of the spectrum, but by employing teams of attorneys (at great cost), whose only interests are fiscal and competitive, any of the harmony that remains between Driver and Johansson is cruelly exposed and used as a weakness.

In the hands of a director less skilled than Noah Baumbach (Margot at the Wedding, Frances Ha) we could easily have ended up with either a black comedy or an overwrought drama, but this finds a line between the two, by steering a complex and subtle, and lengthy, dialogue (he is the writer) that does not allow the viewer to particularly side with either protagonist - both have their faults and their virtues - but it's the actions of their attorneys that bring out the worst, not the best, in them.

That said my wife and I both fell for Driver's side of the story (and only found out afterwards that the movie is based on BaunBach's own experience of divorcing Jennifer Jason Leigh, so maybe it's not quite as agnostic as we thought.

It's a slow build, with several long monologues that just finish, mostly, before they outstay their welcomes.

But there are also moments of humour. The visit of a social worker is laugh out loud funny and the rehearsal scene where Johansson prepares her terrified sister to hand over the divorce papers is likewise an absolute comic joy.

But overall it's both deeply personal and very affecting at times, more than once I was reaching for the Kleenex, and part of that is down to the casting and the highly personal cinematography that shows off the two leads at their most naked (emotionally) and vulnerable with long, lingering close ups on each of them. That's one reason that the big screen is always better than the TV for feature films. Like The Irishman, though, this is a Netflix original and will not be on the big screen for long.

Driver is at the top of his game and that means there are three serious Oscar best actor contenders this year - himself, De Niro and Phoenix. All three would win in any average year. Driver's one take performance of Stephen Sondheim's "Being Alive" at a piano bar is a real highlight and is about a man';s lack of commitment. It's an excellent counterpoint to Randy Newman's typically accomplished, and in parts quite jaunty, score.

Johannson puts in a career-best shift. Not only is his beauty put to one side . No make up and often unflattering close ups, but she acts her socks off.

Also of great note is laura Dern's performance as her lawyer and a cameo role for a sprightly, 83 year old, Alan Alda.

It's a slow burn but it comes highly recommended from me (and my wife). Just go see it in the cinema.

Marriage Story fmovies. It's based on the life of a couple who are trying to get a divorce and distance themselves from each other, they hate one another for all the mistakes they've made in their relationship, but they still respect each other and deep down still have some love for each other. This is one of the best performances by Scarlett and Adam Driver was amazing too. I guess Scarlett would've highly related to the script because she had several divorces in the past, so she knows how it feels during that phase, the heartbreak, the excruciating mental trauma you go through and that can be seen in her performance. She's so natural in the emotional and verbal fight scenes. P.S: I watched it at the Mumbai Film Festival (India) and I am planning to watch it again once it premieres on Netflix.

When I first saw the trailer for this film it brought tears to my eyes. It seemed to me like it was going to be a roller coaster of emotions, and I really expected it to be one of the best films of the year. Don't get me wrong, it is by no means a bad movie. The acting is without a doubt some of the best that I have seen, and I believe that both Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson deserve Oscar nominations for how well they did in the film. Unfortunately, I personally was not all that affected by their emotional performances, and had a lot of trouble connecting with their characters. I think older audiences, as well as anyone who has been through a divorce will connect with the film a lot more than I did. That was really my big problem with the film, apart from their child being extremely annoying at times. Other than that, the film is very well made, I did not get bored at any point, although I think it could have been 10 minutes shorter. If it were not for the fact that I felt no attachment to the characters, I would likely give this film a much higher review, likely an 8 or a 9, but I just really wasn't feeling it. Still, definitely a great film in every other regard, and I am likely in the minority about how I felt about the characters, so I would recommend giving it a watch so you can form your own opinion on it.

I was glad to catch this film at the Virginia Film Festival last weekend. Baumbach's semi-autobiographical film offers a realistic glimpse into a divorce. His writing was also phenomenal, as I found every scene vital to the plot. The script was effectively heart-wrenching and was carried by two awesome leads, at their best. Although the movie was heart-wrenching, there were also other moments when Baumbach offers the audience a laugh, while drawing them back to vulnerabilities of the main characters. The cast was magnificent. Apart from the powerful performances by Driver and Johansson, the audience is able to find depth within each of the supporting characters.