Marriage Story

May 5, 2021
6 min read

Updated: Sep 24, 2022

Starring Scarlett Johansson & Adam Driver

Being a nightrider, I often find myself reloading the Netflix tab on my browser to find fresh, raw content, movies I could watch, critique and finish a bucket of popcorn over. I recently came across an academy-nominated film, “Marriage Story”. As displeased I was at reading the title, one look at the cast and I was taken aback. I sat back and pressed play.

Opening the film with the most adorable montage by the couple, Nicole, played by Scarlett Johnson and Charlie, rendered by Adam Driver, the film has warming undertone to it right from the beginning. Jennifer Lame, the editor of the film, has layered the monologue sequence to make it feel like a “love story” even though it really wasn’t, making it clear how both the characters loved and respected each other. While Charlie elaborates on how Nicole gave up movies to do theatre with him in New York, Nicole talks about the things she found faultless or some which she found bothersome. The duet describes the microscopic details of each other such as their little habits or even the principles they thrived on for its sole purpose of reminding them “why they fell in love in the first place”. It includes flashbacks from how their married life has been until now, identical to a theatrical, surreal tale accompanied with a disney-like instrumental piece which again establishes why both of them were in the theatre industry. The tone of this monologue lays great emphasis on what was going to unravel next as well. The scene culminates in a couple’s therapy room holding their love letters to each other. Nicole struggles to voice her letter(the love letter) barricaded by her ardent nature which stops Charlie from doing the same, and their feelings remain unsaid. The best part is that this prelude very much determines how both the characters behave and evolve later in the story. Lame also began the scene with Nicole in the center frame and a dramatical light outshining her face on a dark stage, to mark the start of this absorbing seven-minute montage with Randy Newman’s film score playing in the background. The same monologue comes off as a repete at the concluding scene of the film and where Charlie finds Nicole’s letter with their son and breaks into tears.

Later in the movie, when Nicole shifts to LA with her son after her divorce with Charlie, she finds herself away from the theatrical world her husband had bound her to. She even admits that she knew his husband cheated on her with a lady from their theatre company. This is revealed when she visits her divorce attorney, Nora Fanshaw, enacted by the academy award winner Laura Dern. Nicole’s gut-wrenching speech as she introduces herself to Nora devours her into her benumbed story. Dern too makes fancy signals such as taking off her red heels or promising to be by Nicole’s side by giving her an insight into how she dealt with divorce herself. This is done to make Nicole feel comfortable and dialogues such as “We are interested in what you wanna do” and “They give us babies and then get sick of us” just elucidates the element of the newly- introduced empowerment presented afore Nicole by her feminist attorney/friend, Nora. Nicole, in her unsteady tone, narrates the story of what led to her being in a divorce attorney’s room that day. Though she seemed fragile at start, Johnson comes off to be very strong and promising as the scene proceeds because she openly speaks about her past and justifies her actions. Her clarity with words accompanied with high emphasis over her husband’s egotistical interests throughout their marriage shows how she wanted to be heard. Her constant compliments amid her speech about the tea and the cookies brews the feeling of likeness, accounting for how she liked the feeling of being surrounded with Nora. I personally found Nora’s character the most intriguing one, not because she won an Academy award for it (but yes, that too matters ;) ) but because of how intelligently it was portrayed.

Nora’s monologue, where she introduces herself before Nicole quite literally is enough to make certain what her occupation is all about. After the rehearsal interview of Nicole with a child specialist, Nora goes on making a speech. In her entire dialogue, she makes shaky gestures like rolling her eyes or using big hand movements to make sense out of something that often comes off as very feminine to look at. This is done to “make-clear” that she is “the woman” in the room, and which inadvertently aids her in asserting power over the figurative “ men” in the same room. The actress admits she researched how women divorce attorneys, especially the ones working for the upper class, more accurately, Hollywood, would react in a situation like this. Throughout the entire course of the dialogue, she makes sures to keep her voice up and demeans generations of fathers for what is expected of them and how they really turn out. Regardless of the speech being highly inclined towards a very feminist perspective(which would have been able to convince the viewers about her identity) , Laura’s actions and voice modulation held the same weightage in outlining her stance, probably higher if not the same. The same motion is seen later when Nora dejects Charlie’s attorney as she goes on making ridiculing comments on the persisting irony of how men’s statements are underscored instead of a woman's or even when she gives advice to Nicole. This monologue was by far the most fascinating part of the film since it is unlikely to see a character emerge more into an aspect to advocate and prove the same outlook, not showing one speck of acceptance(towards men).

The ethos of the movie makes it quite evident that there was no way the couple was ever getting back together and it was their son, the arbiter to decide whom he’d end up with. In the falling action of the film, both Adam and Scarlett present themselves in their character’s most raw, vulnerable and vehement form. Call it; bitter or sweet. Well, mostly bitter. The scene starts off slow but becomes steadier and more impolite by the second. Charlie’s profound expression of disappointment encircles his face(for Nicole having told a manipulated story to her lawyer) while Nicole seems modest in her approach(showing how guilt-ridden she was). Both of them push forward to try to act civil during the entire conversation but as they try holding back heavy gestures such as tears, bigger actions such as Charlie breaking the wall lay hold of the dialogue and both of them fall into the trap of fighting after all. It is only then conversation escalates to another level intensity and enormity. Both of them walk around the room with their voices only going up. Their faces turn red and eyes, filled with tears throughout the argument stressing over the clear vindication both of them required from one another withal. Their screeching voice in the entire scene becomes highly overwhelming and totally succumbs one into the “marriage story” between the two. When Charlie makes the most inhumane wish of wishing Nicole to have died, he stops and breakdowns. This might be the heaviest scene in the entire movie which becomes authenticating when Charlie covers his face, kneels down and hugs Nicole’s legs, barely able to say he was sorry.

The beauty about this movie is that it captures and covers the essence of every stage a relationship goes through. It has been cleverly casted which is one of the biggest facets making it worth-watching. Noah Baumbach has used several symmetrical, flat compositions in the foremost scenes and has eradicated cross-cutting sequences at most places to give the intended theatrical effect . Being a director who embraces flawed characters but ones who show potential for growth in an unsound setting, Baumbach has brought out the pyramid of the story truly explicitly. Even so the movie starts with the divorce set afoot, it manages to summon up the history of the couple’s affection for each other in sharp, visual terms.

Directed by Noah Baumbach

Produced by David Heyman & Noah Baumbach

Written by Noah Baumbach

Starring