Excellent performance, but fail to relate on many levels

Rating: 7/10 (24 December 2019)

Marriage Story is a good film but an overrated good film. It's at times great, but it doesn't work for me on many levels.
As someone who is going through a divorce myself, I just can't identify at all with Nicole. From the very beginning her grounds for divorce seems incredibly flimsy. Do a couple who are clearly still in love with each other decide to end it for the reasons given in the film? I can see why so many are labelling them as hipsters. Well... And Charlie at the end of the film wants to move to LA. Well... Are we supposed to sympathise?
As for the plot, there are just too many similarities to Synecdoche, New York. So the wife has decided to move to a far away place, and taking the child whom the husband fears he will never see. Then the husband is a theatre director who got a MacArthur grant, and is the love interest of a "lesser" female member of the theatre crew. And then a condescending female professional (lawyer / therapist) provides comedy relief. I mean, am I supposed to immerse myself in the plot when I am counting similarities of this plot with another plot?
And then there's more. So Nicole is an actress turned successful female director. How wonderful, guess who that reminds me of? I really hope Gerwig wouldn't mind getting written into a divorce drama while Baumbach is still with her. I am hoping Scarlett Johansson is not going to be the big screen witness to another director couple divorce (well she's technically not on big screen in Her but hey).
So you see, there are just too many elements stopping me emotionally investing in the characters. Critics love it for the in-jokes, maybe. But to be honest these in-jokes are just plain annoying and pointless.
I like films with a stage play feel when it's done right. Marriage Story has good rhythm and excellent performances but I feel the wit is missing. Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson have both probably done their career best here. Ray Liotta and Laura Dern are both totally enjoyable. The intense dialogues and monologues are definitely great but they are just soooooo obviously vehicles for "outstanding performance of a lead role in drama".
To be honest, I doubt people will remember Marriage Story in 10 years. Maybe drama students will. As this film feels incredibly like a drama class exercise.