The perilous nature of divorce in an age where relationships are built on the foundations of self-determination between partners is a story not told often enough. Noah Baumbach’s epic film ‘Marriage Story’ offers a gaze into the harsh and uncensored boxing match of divorce.
Uppercuts and jabs from ex-lovers whose perceptions have been infested with unrealised falsehoods engineered by money-hungry lawyers to get as much dirt on their former partners as possible. The rule of the game is to prey on illusions and dismiss sympathies. Love ends in a court of law.
‘Marriage Story’ is truly an Oscar worthy picture enthralled with unforgettable performances that encapsulate the angst of millennial marriages from both sides.
In the opening scene of the film, we witness Charlie Barber (Adam Driver) read a letter describing qualities he likes about his wife, Nicole (Scarlett Johansson). He focuses on the little things that made her perfect for him.
“She’s amazing at opening jars because of her strong arms, which I’ve always found quite sexy.” Something most men would never admit to.
This line alone from the screenplay emits nuances that dismiss conventional ideas of masculinity. It is aided by visuals that show Charlie struggle to open a pickle jar and voluntarily give it to Nicole who effortlessly does so.
The conventions of partnership in the modern world have undergone a paradigm shift. Nicole was organised and time conscious. She called most of the shots in the house and would occasionally be the mother of two boys – Charlie and their son Henry, the centre of all the divorce drama.
Charlie is a thespian and theatre director of a company he co-founded with Nicole as an actress. He’s a perfectionist with an holistic approach to his theatre direction. Popular in the elite circles of Broadway in New York, he built a reputation for himself which eventually landed him the prestigious MacArthur Fellowship – valued at US$625 000 paid over five years in quarterly instalments.
Nicole, a former teen actor, lives in Charlie’s shadow before realising just how much she invested emotionally into him and their family to the point she missed out on her own directing aspirations in California, where she is from.
When an opportunity to go back to Los Angeles and star in a television pilot comes up, Nicole goes and takes Henry along.
She then meets reputable divorce attorney Nora Fanshaw, who listens to her and makes her realise how much of her life she has given up for Charlie.
When Charlie travels to LA to share some exciting news, he is astonished to receive divorce papers instead… He begins to see a side to Nicole he never knew existed as a custody battle ensures.
Charlie is forced to play dirty to try and get shared custody of their son, in the end using most of his fellowship money to fund the divorce proceedings.
Critics have called ‘Marriage Story’ the modern-day equivalent of the 1979 classic ‘Kramer vs Kramer’ and it’s certainly enlightening that what began as an ambitious love story, was derailed by each person’s need to make something of themselves and achieve their separate measures of greatness.
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