Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver make Marriage Story extraordinary
Boosted by some of the year’s best writing and performances by Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver that will surely put them in Oscars contention, Marriage Story will merrily break your heart, then solemnly repair it, over and over again.
Leigh Paatsch
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Misery awaits your company in Marriage Story, but do not let that put you off in any way whatsoever.
For somehow – in a manner often bordering on the miraculous – this unsparing portrait of the contemporary divorce process will show you much more of a good time than you could possibly have bargained for.
It all starts with two powerhouse performances from Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver, both of whom look surefire contenders for Oscars action in a few months’ time.
They play the perfect New York couple – he is a successful stage director, she is his creative muse – about to face up to the imperfections of their union in a Los Angeles that might as well be a foreign country.
Nicole (Johansson) has moved west to reignite the career she put on hold to get married.
Charlie (Driver) keeps jetting west, initially in the hope of saving his family, then reluctantly to continue waging a custody battle over their only child.
So far, so mundane, right? Wrong.
Where Marriage Story comes alive – and continues to throb with vitality and emotion – is in the vivid sense of detail it applies to both sides of an argument that cannot and will not have a clear victor.
By the end of the movie, you will not only believe you have gotten to know Nicole and Charlie at a depth not normally encountered via a screen, you will understand exactly how they are feeling as well.
To begin with, the pairing of Johansson and Driver seems like efficient casting, rather than the be-all and end-all of the film.
However, scene by scene, line by line and breath by breath, the forensic accuracy of their performances continues to increase until the target they had in mind all along is locked in their sights: you.
Boosted by some of the year’s best writing, the extraordinary Marriage Story will merrily break your heart, then solemnly repair it, over and over again.
MARRIAGE STORY (M)
Director: Noah Baumbach (Frances Ha)
Starring: Scarlett Johansson, Adam Driver, Laura Dern, Alan Alda, Ray Liotta.
Rating: ****1/2
From wedlock to deadlock
MARRIAGE STORY IS NOW SHOWING AT THE LIDO HAWTHORN, CLASSIC ELSTERNWICK AND CAMEO BELGRAVE BEFORE LAUNCHING ON NETFLIX ON FRIDAY DEC 6.
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