Depressing and preachy

Rating: 4/10 (15 December 2019)

Marriage Story is a depressing tale of how divorce turns people into the worst versions of themselves. The dialog includes preachy/pedantic dialog in which the screenwriter speaks through the characters instead of letting the ideas come out more naturally. For example, her lawyer preaches about how women are treated differently in the courts, which is true, but we are left feeling as though we are at a protest rally rather than in a consultation. Similarly, his lawyer preaches about how the system is set up to make merciless adversaries of the spouses, which also may be true. In both cases these ideas could have been presented more naturally through just telling a story. While Driver and Johansson are good in their roles, the overall movie is a miserable experience.