An impressive, realistic, and emotional awards contender

Rating: 9/10 (25 November 2019)

This has been an incredibly good year for movies, and the fact that I can say that when there's still so many more to see is more impressive still. Add Marriage Story to the list of potential 2019 classics too- it's easily Noah Baumbach's best film yet, and features what could be career best performances from both Scarlett Johansson and the always captivating Adam Driver.
The screenplay is all but a shoe-in for an Academy Award, due to the brilliant manner in which it delivers emotional gut-punch after emotional gut-punch without feeling overly sentimental or sappy; it's an absolute tearjerker for sure, but it never feels cheap, and it never feels manipulative. Usually films that feel so grounded in reality leave me cold (looking at you Michel Haneke and Ingmar Bergman), but this one strikes a balance that I've hardly ever seen before. It's the best of both worlds, really.
Also admirable is how great the entire supporting cast is (including the child actor), and how everyone feels like a real person. Both leads have admirable qualities and qualities that make them flawed and incredibly human. It's tough at times to see these two flawed yet sympathetic people pitted against each other; it would be an easier sit if one was villainised but this really isn't the case, and the film is all the more strong because of it (though it does lead to some intentionally uncomfortable and very tense scenes that still prove hard to look away from).
I was sceptical about Netflix's potential to make the sort of big, awards-worthy movies that typically top best of the year lists, but between this and Scorsese's latest, I have to say they're doing some impressive stuff. You won't lose too much from watching this at home over in a cinema, in fact it might be easier- after all, crying in public isn't always ideal, and chances are you will tear up more than once in this film's final act.
But importantly, as mentioned before: those tears are earned, thanks to the incredible characterisation, dialogues, and performances. This one's unmissable, and really, if it's going to be on Netflix within the next few weeks, you have no excuse, really.