Streaming Service: Netflix
Movie Name/Year: Marriage Story (2019)
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Length: 136 minutes
Rating: R
Production/Distribution: Heyday Films, Netflix, Odeon, TriPictures, The Criterion Collection
Director: Noah Baumbach
Writer: Noah Baumbach
Actors: Alan Alda, Scarlett Johansson, Adam Driver, Laura Dern, Ray Liotta, Julie Hagerty, Merritt Wever, Azhy Robertson
Blurb from IMDb: Noah Baumbach's incisive and compassionate look at a marriage breaking up and a family staying together.
Selina’s Point of View:
I short-changed the shit out of this film when it was up for the Top 20 list. The trailers just made it seem like it would be such a basic drama film that ended the way you’d expect films like it to end. It didn’t showcase the best of… well… anything.
Before I go into what I thought of this film, I need to go into my previous statement a bit.
We write a Top 20 every month at Trust the Dice. Whether it’s my month, or Cat’s, we watch every single trailer that we can find – foreign, streaming, independent, blockbuster… hell, if we can find B-movie trailers we devour those too. We compare and contrast them. We use our personal experiences to try and figure out if a trailer is blowing smoke or trying to hard. And, as much as we attempt to judge the trailers on their own merit, we’re gonna make mistakes.
Some great movies are going to be overlooked because of badly made trailers or our own personal taste. Other movies, bad ones, may wind up getting too much recognition from us for the same reasons.
It all comes back to one idea. It’s one that I’ve always tried to keep as the main focus of this blog. And I think it needs some serious reiterating: YOU CAN’T JUDGE A MOVIE BEFORE YOU SEE IT. It’s just a good idea to live by in general. Can’t judge a book before you read it, or a person before you know them, either.
You have moments like with Martin Scorsese (The Wolf of Wall Street, The Irishman, Shutter Island) claiming that the Marvel films aren’t cinema, or thousands of people bitching online that Birds of Prey: And the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn (2020) is just a bunch of SJW bullshit – in both cases, their wrong and the comments were made before seeing the films. It’s not the right way to go about anything.
We write our Top 20s as a guideline. We want to get the best trailers out for people to see so that you guys can make an educated decision on where you spend your money on your next movie ticket… but our opinions are based on a small amount of information. Even when we do get to see a film before it hits theaters, it’s rarely that early. Always trust your own opinions before you trust ours. And give other works of art a chance, even if it’s not something that you would normally gravitate toward.
A Marriage Story is not the kind of film that would normally seek out, but it was phenomenal. I thought it would get boring at times. I thought it would drag on. It didn’t.
There was more suspense and tension orchestrated throughout each scene than I could have ever expected. It was more well done than just about every thriller I’ve seen in the past 5 years. Maybe longer. At one point, my internet went out while I was watching and I nearly had a tantrum. Not even gonna lie.
Everything about A Marriage Story was so visceral and real. The couple involved was shown in such a light that I could feel myself entranced by them.
I recognized one of the deals they made. My husband is from Long Island and I’m from Brooklyn. He moved to Brooklyn with me at the beginning of our relationship, but moving to Long Island was always something we agreed to do when we had a kid. So, we live in Long Island now. It’s been rough adapting to the different style of living, but it’s starting to feel comfortable. Still, I could see why he might be pissed if I hadn’t followed through with my promise. His home was always here. He made the sacrifice to live in my home city for a while and now the tables are turned. We make compromises for the people we love.
I won’t go too deep into the reasons for the movie couples divorce… but I understood it. I took sides in my head, but I felt for both of them. And the performances by Adam Driver (The Dead Don’t Die, Logan Lucky, Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi) and Scarlett Johansson (Jojo Rabbit, Avengers: Endgame, Isle of Dogs) were flawless. When they cried, I cried. There was never a moment where I got distracted from what they were showing me on screen. Both of them lost the Oscar, but I don’t fully agree with that. For Driver: sure. He was up against Joaquin Phoenix (You Were Never Really Here, Her, Inherent Vice) in Joker (2019). That was just bad luck for him. But Johansson should have won.
The writer/director, Noah Baumbach (Frances Ha, Mistress America, Fantastic Mr. Fox) also had some bad luck going up against Bong Joon Ho (Okja, Snowpiercer, Mother) and Jin Won Han (Take Point, Okja) for Best Original Screenplay. If Parasite (2019) didn’t exist, however, Baumbach should have won. Hands down.
This film was absolutely Netflix’s best. 100%. I do not know how they could ever do anything better. I’m look forward to finding out.
I’m not sure where to begin. This time, at least, my initial loss of words isn’t due to frustration with the movie I just watched. It’s quite the opposite, really. Marriage Story was powerful, emotional, and touched on moments in my life that connect me to the story. My eyes are misty and I have a deep craving for a mug of hot tea and some snuggles.
Unfortunately, this movie didn’t make it onto my Top 20 list for the month of November 2019. Part of me regrets that oversight in retrospect. Marriage Story certainly deserves any accolades that it receives. At the same time, I think I understand why I didn’t add it. Movies along this subject matter involving divorced families tend to get emotional for me. My parents separated and ultimately divorced when I was young. Thankfully, their relationship remained friendly and – at least from my point of view – their custody arrangement went smoothly. Even so, I sometimes find films on the subject matter hard to watch. I fled the theater in tears when I attempted Hope Floats (1998) and I haven’t looked back – all due to my visceral reaction to some of the opening scenes of the movie.
I digress…
This story felt visceral and real. I related to each member of this family in my own way. I’ve had friends going through rough times with their relationships. I have friends that have had difficult custody battles. I’ve seen the good and the bad from all sides of the divorcing family situation. Hell… my husband and I have been together over 20 years and it hasn’t all been rainbows and sing-alongs. It’s no surprise that the story was written somewhat based on a real divorce.
Adam Driver (The Man Who Killed Don Quixote, The Dead Don't Die, The Report) and Scarlett Johansson (Hail,Caesar!, Sing, Rough Night) were amazing in their roles. With the recent movies in the Star Wars (1977) franchise, it’s hard to see Driver outside of his lead role in that saga. This film was able to transport me entirely to a place where I didn’t even consider a hint of Kylo Ren. I only saw Charlie. I am rather impressed with his range – and even his vocal ability.
I would certainly recommend this film for anyone who enjoys a powerful emotional drama – or anyone that needs a good cathartic cry. It wouldn’t necessarily be a good Valentine’s movie, however, so try to save it for something other than Netflix and Chill on this holiday.
Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – 95%
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – 85%
Metascore – 93/100
Metacritic User Score – 8.1/10
IMDB Score – 8.0/10
CinemaScore – None
Trust the Dice: Selina’s Rating – 5/5
Trust the Dice: Cat’s Rating – 4.5/5
Movie Trailer:
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