Film Analysis: Marriage Story (2019)
This is not a cinematography, editing, or a professional art review at all. This is a documentation of my encounter with this film. That said, I urge you all to share your most unfiltered thoughts on this film too.
Quick Facts
Marriage Story was released in 2019, the film was written and directed by Noah Baumbach, and it stars Scarlett Johansson (Nicole), Adam Driver (Charlie), and Laura Den (Nora), the actors of main discussion in this film review.
Getting Straight Into It…
Marriage Story, a beautiful couple, a beautiful child, a dream life, and problems we cannot see. Or can we?
For me Marriage Story is a film that purposely positions Nicole as an antagonist, though Nicole shared her marital issues when she opened up to Nora her divorce lawyer, she did not portray the urgency with which she was behaving, with the main object of the divorce eventually turning into the fact that Charlie refuses to move to Los Angeles (LA) from New York (NY) while this was what Nicole wanted the most for herself and for the family. For those who have never faced similar problems in their relationships it is difficult to understand why she really is seeking a divorce, or why she has erupted all of a sudden. Leading her to break the one rule she had with her husband, Charlie, to not involve lawyers. Besides Charlie’s infidelity, the other issues in her marriage, to the average viewer — or possibly the viewer who sits at Adam’s stand point, sound convoluted.
Throughout the film I found myself slipping into a state where I am heavily empathizing with Charlie, though I have heard Nicole’s story, I heard how Charlie has heavily impacted her life and I heard of Charlie’s selfishness throughout. Yet, I am constantly visually witnessing the struggles Charlie has to endure, to make the divorce happen — something “only she wanted”. From organizing a play in New York while living in LA to renting an empty and unwelcoming house, every visual cue emphasized his challenges. Charlie’s love for walking, impossible to indulge in as freely in LA, adds another layer to his challenges. Amidst all this, he had to go on a lawyer hunt, all while juggling the responsibilities of organizing a play. These struggles were vividly depicted, making it so difficult not to empathize with him.
In the meantime, Nicole was rebuilding her life and her career, and was “taking back the love of her child”. In the film’s narrative arc, Nicole eventually wins, and we are made to empathize with Charlie, who had to sacrifice his business in NY, by accepting a residency at UCLA out of his deep love for his son. This visual portrayal of Charlie as the man who continuously sacrifices is a common running theme in this film. Even the woman whom he cheated on Nicole with, was portrayed as an unremarkable person, rather just a filler, a back up, a second choice, and as Charlie explains later, it was something Nicole technically “forced” him to do because she refused to make love to him for a year.
It is quite mesmerizing how this film came together, never in this film did I think Nicole was a better parent than Charlie, it was Charlie who was portrayed with the characteristics of an “ideal parent”. The film is quite complex, and it portrays two different styles of parenting which co-exist in the world of one child. Though this child seems to be in a very peaceful state, I don’t think this is an accurate depiction of how children would react to such situation, I would say this is a fantasy of the director, a fantasy which led us to believe for a moment that a child can endure this process unaffected. Kind of a “dream come true” situation that the director wants to bring out through this film.
Final Words on the Film
The film does make a nod to Ingmar Bergman’s “Scenes of A Marriage”, it quite literally shows the actors in a poster titled “Scenes of A Marriage” . An interesting moment there because as a viewer I had already made up my mind about the flaws of Ingmar’s actors prior to watching “Marriage Story”. Flaws which can be projected onto Nicole and Charlie so well. They depict a partner who bottles up so many feelings, erupts momentarily then seemingly becomes the selfish parent and partner. Causing a “shock” for the other partner, whose state of oblivion is the alarming reaction in itself, and this, this is exactly where Nicole’s pain lies throughout this film.
I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing this.
