Marriage Story

Last year's MARRIAGE STORY, on cursory glance, seemed calculated to elicit tears much the way many Pixar films do.  The scenario is crushing, especially to those who lived through it as a participant or an unfortunate offspring.  The latter would describe me, one who at age nineteen watched the final disintegration of a long troubled union.  The yelling, the awkwardness, the guilt tripping  - all of that happened during my childhood.  I knew even at a young age that they were doomed, but always prayed it wouldn't happen, at least while I was still living at home.  Once my mother exited, her correspondence with my father was only (to my knowledge) through the mail.  When I cleaned out my grandmother's apartment a few years back, I found a few letters exchanged between my parents' lawyers.  Cold, matter of fact.

I'm not here to recount my parents' matrimonial dissolution, but it was impossible not to think about it during this film.  I greatly admire writer/director Noah Baumbach and the cast's past work, but I was not so eager to dive in, as the pain is still there.  These are not fun stories to watch.  Have you seen KRAMER VS. KRAMER?  For those who've actually gone through the ugliness and gut wrench of a divorce of their spouse, well, I can't imagine.  This film will lay bare the wounds.  It has scenes of predatory attorneys who will use any scrap of anecdotal information to slander the opponent.  Oh, your wife stumbled a bit because she drank a few glasses of wine that night? You didn't completely strap in that car seat? All fodder for open court battle.  A "street fight" as it is accurately described.

Baumbach, basing much of his screenplay on his own experience, opens his picture with the main characters' voice-overs, describing their soon to be exes' best qualities.  Both are observations of the little things, which of course are indicative of the big things.  Charlie (Adam Driver), an NYC theater director, describes Nicole (Scarlet Johansson), an actress, as loving and competitive, and prone to leaving unfinished cups of tea around.   She describes him as loving the role of fatherhood, but also competitive.  We will see this as the story progresses, as the amicable divorce rapidly turns dark.  No lawyers, they initially said.  But soon Nicole hires Nora (Laura Dern), a velvet brick of a woman.  Charlie at first hires the gentler, world wearier Bert (Alan Alda), but realizes he needs "his own asshole", and nearly bankrupts himself with the counsel of Jay (Ray Liotta), who goes right for the jugular.

The fight is all about their young son Henry (Azhy Robertson), as neither parent is very materialistic, fighting over a sofa or such.  L.A. versus NYC takes on deeper meaning in MARRIAGE STORY than in say, ANNIE HALL.  I cite Woody Allen's film as Baumbach takes more than a few cues from him, especially during some well timed bits of unexpected humor, often involving the allure of "space" in Los Angeles. Other times, food.  Leavening this story with such may strike some viewers as almost sitcom-ish, but I felt it worked just fine.

The actors? Of course they're amazing.  Johansson gets a long monologue early on.  She and Driver have a lengthy fight in his apartment that may feel like a plea for an Oscar, but I bought the anger and the tears, every bit of it.  These leads are sensational.

My own tears came not so much from the Big Scenes, but the little moments.  Like a haircut, or a shoelace being tied.  Wrecked me, because even though this is really a divorce story as well as a marriage story, it is ultimately a love story, even if, as it's stated in the movie, it no longer makes sense for the principals.