A beautiful picture showing the hardships of human love an

Rating: 9/10 (18 December 2019)

If you would read no further than this line: this is a beautiful film and you should see it.
Noah Baumbach has taken the same ingredients he used for his last film, The Meyerowitz Stories, and has balanced them with more skill, leading to a picture that shines on all fronts .
We observe the main characters, Charlie and Nicole, as they go through the motions of their divorce. We watch them struggle with their desires while they try to frame everything leading up to the separation - meanwhile going through all the emotions that bubble to the surface. They have a young child, Henry. Their relationship with him as they go through the break up is redefined, as the parents labor to keep their difficulties out of his world as much as possible. From the film's opening on you are invested in these people and that doesn't change until the end credits are rolling.
Adam Driver and Scarlet Johansson are just lovely. I mean, I don't know what else to say. These are two top of the line actors portraying well written characters in a heartfelt story. What's not to like? They make you feel deeply for Charlie and Nicole - their confusion, despair, frustration, doubt and hope, come across as believable and genuine. There will be moments in the film where you will feel their pain, and laugh at their silliness as they try to keep their heads above water.
The rest of the cast is a perfect fit, with Laura Dern, Alan Alda and Ray Liotta being particularly good as the divorce lawyers. I won't say too much about their characters or performances as not to spoil the film, but let's just say they represent that side of human nature we would rather avoid having to acknowledge.
Baumbach's unique writing style delivers a mix of clever, engaging and sometimes hilarious dialogue and a story that makes the character's feel very real and relatable.
This film is a great reminder that right and wrong, in their absolute fairytale forms, don't exist. People endeavor to love and often times they eventually fail. And while that's okay, the suffering that comes with it is inevitable. This picture does well in showing what that means on an existential front as wel as displaying the harsh pragmatical and logistical side of things that comes with a divorce when there's a kid in the picture, without giving us any easy, pre-made conclusions to hold on to.