Marriage Story Review

Rating: 9/10 (11 December 2019)

Wow. What a great story about relationships and the beginnings and endings of them. Marriage Story is a flawless, heartbreaking story led by two of some of the best performances of the year. Adam Driver is phenomenal. Most people know him from the new Star Wars Trilogy but people should really see some of his other films. He usually does a great job but in this film, he is 100% dedicated to the role. They are certain scenes in the film where it doesn't feel like he is acting. It feels as if he is actually this character and going through all of these troubles. He puts so much emotion into his performance that it is heartbreaking yet mesmerizing. Scarlett Johansson gives yet again another fantastic performance. While her performance isn't as mesmerizing as Driver's performance, it's still perfect. She also conveys a huge amount of emotion with her role but adds a slightly more comedic and relaxed atmosphere to Driver's serious and hardworking atmosphere. Both actors play off each other perfectly, even in scenes where their characters are fighting with each other. Every other performance in the film is pretty great, especially from Laura Dern. The script for Marriage Story is fantastic. It compliments the performances and feels very natural. It knows how much the characters need to say to get a point across or when to restrict them. The music and cinematography are great. The music is done by Randy Newman (Toy Story) and fits the depressing tone the film is going for. The film makes the good choice of not using music during certain dramatic scenes which helps make those scenes more emotional. The cinematography isn't groundbreaking by any means but there are a lot of beautiful shots. Towards the beginning of the movie, there is a 5 minute uncut shot of Scarlett Johansson talking about why she stopped being in love with Adam Driver's character and it's great. There is one sequence in the film that is perfectly shot, acted, and scripted and it's the argument scene. I felt sad and a smidge emotional for the characters throughout the film but this one scene made me feel a whole lot. It's one of the best scenes in cinema this year. Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson completely disappear in this scene. It doesn't feel like acting. It feels like the filmmakers just filmed real people breaking apart. The emotion displayed in this one scene is off the charts. It cemented for me that Adam Driver is a masterclass actor that people should pay more attention to besides being known as "the guy from Star Wars". The rest of the film has its emotional moments but they don't top that scene. The film's plot is pretty straightforward but the way the characters interact makes the film feel unpredictable. Noah Baumbach used his direction to make a straightforward story feel unique. I'm going to start paying more attention to Baumbach from here on out. Overall, Marriage Story is a fantastic film about relationships and divorce with some of the best performances of the year, an outstanding screenplay, unique direction, and some great cinematography and music.