It's okay, but forgettable

Rating: 7/10 (11 January 2020)

I watched this movie with my husband and the very high rating of ofcourse lead to high expectations. Unfortunately, the movie didn't live up to those expectations. Yes, the acting is great, but you don't really build a connection with any of the characters. Even though a lot of effort is put into the dialogues, it still feels like you never really get to know them, and therefore, you don't truly root for them. We watched it without any background information, so we were hoping on a marriage revival, but this never happens. You don't even see them make an effort to save it, despite the very touching letters they wrote about each others qualities in the beginning of the movie. For me, the movie was interesting while I believed there was still a chance of them making it better. That a deeper layer might be touched, instead of all the superficial lawyer stuff. (Which was amusing, and sometimes uncomfortable, but nothing more than that). However, it's all about the breakup and therefore, 'Divorce Story' would have been a better name. I cried while watching Mrs Doubtfire (also a dramatic comedy about a divorce, and a father doing anything to see his kids), but with this movie: not a single tear, not even close. The difference is: in Mrs Doubtfire, you could actually truly relate to the characters and their motives, their pain, you get attached to them as a family and as individuals. Marriage story didn't do that for us at all and I'm sure I've forgotten about this movie in 1 or 2 years. I'm still not sure what this movie wanted to teach us, if anything.