Marriage Story

Dies ist einer der Filme, bei dem man vergisst, dass man Schauspieler*innen beobachtet. Man erlebt zusammen mit den Hauptfiguren ihre Geschichte. Ein zarter Beziehungsfilm mit vielen Dialogen. Bei dem Erzählen wird bravourös auch mit der Kamera und dem Schnitt gearbeitet. Die Szene, in der sich Scarlett zum ersten Mal ihrer Anwältin anvertraut, ist vielleicht der brillanteste Teil des Films. Aus der Sicht der Schauspielleistung war es auf dem atemberaubenden Niveau von Naomi Watts in der Szene der Schauspielprobe im Film Mulholland Drive. Eine weitere gelungene Angelegenheit ist die Schnitt-Eskalation, das Näherkommen zu den angespannten Gesichtern in einem Streit. In dem werden die schlimmsten Sachen gesagt, die man gleich bereut. Im Theater wäre das ohne die Details von den Gesichtern nicht das Richtige. Die Dialoge sind so authentisch und die Charaktere der Figuren so genau, dass ihre Darstellung eine schöpferische Ekstase sein musste. Und nicht nur Driver mit Scarlett zeigen hier eine Glanzleistung. Laura Dern erlebt auf kleinem Raum ihr Comeback und Ray Liotta kompensiert auf noch kleinerem Spielraum seine Abwesenheit in The Irishman. Wie das Beste von Woody Allen mit der Berührung vom Herzen von La La Land. Das Drehbuch ist ein unausweichlicher Oscar-Kandidat. (24.12.2019)

Quite a mind blowing psychological family movie. There hasn’t been such for a long time with actors that you want to see in some thrilling pose. For example, Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson are great partners. There is a great chemistry between them as well as between Ray Liotta and Laura Dern, their lawyers. It was quite hilarious how the problems of their clients piled up all at once. Personally it was Alan Alda who made me happy with his nice role, but it was a pity that his role was inconsequential. He didn’t deserve that. Still I have to say that some scenes from this movie, including the fight between Adam and Scarlett where some things should have been left unsaid, are among the top performances and it is worth seeing and it is really worth it to live the story with the characters. Dramatically among the best of the contemporary cinema and the director Noah Baumbach’s best movie so far. (25.12.2019)

All unhappy marriages are similar ... Baumbach has always had a weakness for overusing “Allen-esque" features; from New York to neurotic characters to a whirlwind of words filling 110 percent of the running time. But in the end, it has always been more about those too excessive emotions and solving deeply-rooted problems through paper-rustling nonstop dialogue than it was about the characters. Which is not the case this time, because the central married couple are “lifelike". Yes, Baumbach keeps Driver at the level of “continue playing Sackler in Girls" and Johansson as Woody himself styled her a decade ago, but that doesn't really matter, because they're both completely accurate and do a very good job of handling tense scenes full of big emotions in the form of a “devastating spiral" in the sense of "now we're not even pretending to resolve anything or arguing to release tension; we're just trying to hurt each other by saying stuff that we don't really want to say and can't take back", as well as quiet moments of mutual understanding and respect. The whole movie is about the two lead actors' performances. There are no weak moments, as their acting remains outstanding throughout the film. Their performances are confident. In addition, Baumbach has become an experienced screenwriter and director. His previous films would give the one-dimensional supporting “relief" characters, who bring a pinch of humor and farce (mother, sister, lawyers), a much greater role, which would have ruined everything in this film. The only moments when Marriage Story stumbles is when it sometimes comes across as “a documentary record of the end of the official and personal level of a long-term relationship". As a result, Marriage Story is a chronicle of the purgatory called divorce. And that in itself is so telling that there is no need to say anything else. (07.12.2019)

I've despised and hated this film for a long time and with that I apologise and now award it a rightful five star rating. it's a powerful experience and one of the highlights within the genre. The film could also work as a stage play, it's built entirely on excellent performances. Johansson and Driver both give career-best performances, but it's also nice to see Laura Dern in a very strong role as a sharp and tough lawyer. The film has a longer running time, but it immediately draws you in with intelligent dialogue and I didn't blink for the entire film. Probably the most detailed film of one of the most difficult chapters in life that you just don't want to experience, especially if you live in the USA. Once the film switched to the battle of the lawyers and the trial, I was on a cinematic high in pure cinematic perfection. There are scenes that had such a big and powerful impact on me that I'm anxious to watch them again. I forgot to breathe during the scene where their argument culminates in powerful anger. A really perfect, suffocating and unpleasant film. 10/10. (18.07.2022)

Scenes of married life, or what passes for it. I didn't know whether to prepare myself for absolute heartbreak from a little boy's perspective or for a rundown of the deliberate toxicity that can be generated by two people who once loved each other more than anything in the world. And although there is at least a taste of both present, I was decently beside myself in both cases. The main action surprisingly focuses on the legal process of divorce itself and what it forces both spouses to do, regardless of their original intentions. It is a spectacle full of bewildered frowns and disappointment at the inevitable, and thanks to Adam Driver's spot-on performance, it gets under your skin. Scarlett Johansson has the kinds of lines where you can hear the rustling of paper, which is not her fault but rather Noah Baumbach's, who clearly has Charlie figured out and yet is struggling painfully to understand the other side, which he never fully does. I expected more emotional clashes, which came only in the declining (but all the more powerful) finale, and I also expected more natural transitions within the carefully constructed legal process of divorce itself. In the end, it is neither as devastating nor as disarming as I expected or hoped, yet the story is incredibly strong, unpleasant at the right moments, and in the first and last place, honest. (14.12.2019)

A very powerful cinematic experience that I can't give a full score to just because of the state of mind, even despair, it sent me into. After all the pressure about getting married and having kids that I got during my Christmas visits – as a thirty-something, long-engaged girl – now the threat of divorce is now creeping into my thoughts. Thanks, I really needed that. Maybe I'm being a little too open about my private life, but that's largely due to this movie. It wasn’t just the dialogue and the differing attitudes of the man and woman that stirred a lot of emotions in me. It's brilliantly acted, written, and filmed, but also exhausting in its own way... 4.5 stars. (29.12.2019)

In Marriage Story, the waiter says to the father of the groom, "You have to enjoy this wedding, your son only gets married two or three times in your life." With such a number, it is not surprising that divorce also comes into play. Practice confirms this in the USA, where more than half of married couples get divorced. Marriage Story has hit a sore spot in contemporary Western society and has inevitably become one of the most talked-about films of the season. Noah Baumbach incorporated his personal experiences from his breakup with his former partner Jennifer Jason Leigh into the film. Baumbach takes no sides, nor does he focus on pathological behavior or people who, due to their weaknesses and personal traits, are unable to maintain a partnership. The desire for a dual-career marriage is to blame, which is difficult to reconcile with family life in certain professions. Both parties in the divorce are reasonable and level-headed individuals who theoretically should be able to agree on an acceptable form of separation and custody of their son in the child's best interest. However, the child inevitably becomes the catalyst for a court battle that takes on increasingly absurd and tragicomic dimensions. The director demonstrates an excellent sense of detail and adeptly balances between multiple genres. You would expect this to be a tear-jerking depressive drama, but Baumbach is not afraid to use purely entertaining supporting characters and adds sarcastic jabs to intense moments. Driver and Johansson are both likable and excellent actors whom you believe in their hesitations and pain as they become estranged and inflict emotional wounds on each other. While the film didn't take me to any heavenly heights, I consider it to be significantly above-average, well-written and well-directed. Overall impression: 80%. (03.12.2020)

It's better to watch this before midnight. Even so, it’s a very well filmed and acted drama about a relationship falling apart, demonstrating the gradual disintegration of family values. In the end, I had a feeling that divorce isn’t so bad after all, that life goes on and everyone involved wins something out of it, either a lesson or a double Halloween. And that isn’t good from a moral point of view. Because, all said, everybody lost. (12.08.2020)

Precisely balanced with a spicy script and many brilliant scenes. Baumbach at his best. He's not afraid to work with emotions and will even invite a bunch of old codgers to help him out. Laura Dern, Alan Alda and especially Ray Liotta portray exactly what is expected of them. And when it sometimes goes to the absurd, the writer and director in one always break it in another direction and the ride continues. I wouldn’t hesitate to call Marriage Story the relationship drama of the year. It does not moralise, nor does it take sides, it does an excellent job of showing the typically masculine ills of self-centeredness and not listening to the other side, as well as the feminine ills of not thinking rationally and sacrificing family for one's own sense of achievement, work fulfillment and satisfaction. Both sides are easy to understand, the fuck-up is right in the middle. And they portray that fact flawlessly. (29.12.2019)

A brilliantly written and just as well directed study on the inevitable consequences of the relationship of two rational and professionally ambitious people, fully credible in the dialogues and the performances, which couldn’t be any better. We are in the middle of it with the characters, we understand each of their decisions and rows, and Baumbach holds the sympathies on both sides (though as a guy, I related more to Driver), while at the same time managing to alternate the styles, the rhythm and the moods of the narration in an impressive manner, using long shots and markedly compositional editing to change the focus of attention and let the perfect actors stand out. It went by so quickly. I hope Scarlett gets the Oscar (Driver can’t beat Phoenix this year) and I'm already looking forward to another Baumbach – in The Meyerowitz Stories I was unable to relate to the characters despite their good portrayal, but in Marriage Story, I emotionally experienced every aspect. I’d love to see next time an Actor Story, about the life of Jack Nicholson. )) 90% (02.01.2020)

"Ich habe mich zwei Sekunden, nachdem ich ihn das erste Mal gesehen habe, in ihn verliebt. Und ich werde nie aufhören, ihn zu lieben, auch wenn es keinen Sinn mehr macht." Marriage Story fesselt den Zuschauer dank des gut geschriebenen Drehbuchs und der zivilen Leistungen von Adam Driver und Scarlett Johansson, die von Laura Dern, Alan Alda und Ray Liotta in ebenso überzeugenden Nebenrollen unterstützt werden. Der Film schildert das Scheitern einer Ehe auf authentische Weise, indem er die Angelegenheit von beiden Seiten aus betrachtet, ohne dass eine Seite als die gute oder die schlechte dargestellt wird. Freundliche Toleranz wechselt sich allmählich mit heftigen Auseinandersetzungen ab, um schließlich zu einer Versöhnung zu führen, die wieder gebrochen werden könnte, und so geht es immer weiter. Beide Protagonisten haben ihre positiven und negativen Seiten - sie sind, kurz gesagt, Menschen - so dass man während des Gerichtsverfahrens mit beiden gleichzeitig mitfiebert. Nicoles Monolog während ihres ersten Treffens mit der Anwältin, die Argumentation der Anwälte vor Gericht und die Verlesung des Briefes/der Briefe werden noch lange in meinem Kopf nachhallen - sehr starke und überzeugend gespielte Szenen. Neben der dramatischen Linie gab es auch Raum für humorvolle Szenen, für die vor allem Nicoles Familie sorgte, so dass der Film dadurch nicht deprimierend wirkte, worüber ich sehr froh bin. (03.02.2020)

Die Perfektion selbst. Lange habe ich keinen Film gesehen, der eine schmerzvolle Realität besser zum Ausdruck gebracht hätte. Am meisten werden den Film Zuschauerinnen und Zuschauer zu schätzen wissen, die etwas Ähnliches erlebt haben, sei es im geringeren, gleichen oder größeren Maßstab. Bei mir hat der Film vielleicht eine ungewollte Reaktion hervorgerufen, ich musste laut und fast dröhnend lachen, obwohl es ein bittersüßes Lachen war. Die Szenen mit den Juristen und den Gerichten sind meiner Meinung nach prägnant und überall auf der Welt gültig, und ein solches Gericht kann beide Scheidungswillige um recht viel Geld bringen, vor allem in den USA, wenn sich alles um die örtliche Zuständigkeit des Gerichtes drehen kann. Die schauspielerischen Leistungen von Scarlett und Adam sind atemberaubend, der Streit ist meiner Meinung nach Anwärter auf eine der besten Streitszenen überhaupt, dank der Steigerung und der meisterhaften Darstellung, dass jemand im Affekt alles aus sich herausschreien kann, was er unter normalen Umständen nie hervorbrächte. In den Nebenrollen hat mich vor allem Ray Liott fasziniert. (29.11.2020)

More than a two-hour long drama about a failing marriage - that doesn't sound like an action movie (unless it's the Roses). So, I was sitting down to watch the film with serious concerns, but they turned out to be unnecessary. Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson managed to pull it off really well, and even if they hadn’t, they received massive support from all three lawyers. The moment the lawyers got involved in the story, I started feeling very uncomfortable, which I definitely count among the positives. It was a very intense experience which was anything but boring. (02.01.2020)

It's admirable the sensitivity and experience with which Noah Baumbach was able to capture the emotional state of two people whose marriage has fallen apart and are getting divorced. It's hard to come down on either side, as momentary sympathy for one of them changes very quickly when the condemnations and harsh backbiting come out in the divorce proceedings and custody battles. Yet by the end, you don't really feel any resentment or deep sympathy for either side, because they're both part of all this depressing events and they're both going through it the same. You simply have to somehow divide that sympathy between the two of them, unless you're either an orthodox chauvinist or a feminist. I barely took a breath during the opening scene. (26.01.2020)