Why does anybody get married?

Rating: 9/10 (30 January 2020)

Hopefully "Marriage Story" will net Scarlett Johnansson an Academy Award. How many actors go from adorable child stars to capable adult performers to among the greatest performers working?
I had my reservations about "Marriage Story", though. I like Noah Baumbach. His movies are like antidotes to the wafer thin perfect protagonists you get in every other movie. However sometimes that can be a bit much. There is a layer of humour and irony that counterbalances the generally unlikable nature of the characters. But it seems a delicate balancing act. Is "Marriage Story" the movie where Baumbach finally falls to the net, and provides us a cringe-inducing story of unlikable characters doing hateful things?
The answer is, as you've no doubt guessed, no. It is true that the characters do not endear you to them immediately. Cameos from Ray Liotta and Alan Alda (well into his eighties) come as stark relief from their selfish behaviour. But if anyone can turn this into a strength, Baumbach can. It's artful the way he makes us come around to his characters, letting us feel the push and pull of a divorce settlement, siding with one, then the other, and finally, endearing us to both of them, people who grew apart as they grew on you.
"Marriage Story" is one of the year's best films, with a career best performance in front of the camera from Johansson and Driver, and a career best performance from Baumbach behind it.