Marriage Story review: Netflix’s new movie is an Oscar contender

Netflix released the Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson-led Marriage Story this week to widespread critical acclaim. The film is an Oscar contender.

The hype surrounding the Netflix original film Marriage Story has been palpable for a long time and it has arrived just in time for awards season.

Marriage Story has seen nominations and wins for Adam Driver (Best Actor), Scarlett Johansson (Best Actress), and Laura Dern (Supporting Actress) from several critics circles and all should be in the running for the major awards to come. The trio was just nominated for Golden Globes, as well.

However, as we know, critical success does not always mean that a movie is going to be enjoyable for everyone. The Rotten Tomatoes scores are strong among critics and audiences alike, but a quick search on twitter will show a strong divide between those who love the movie and those who hate it. There was even a twitter moment about it.

So my job is to help you decide which side you’ll fall on without you having to endure the 2+ hours to decide for yourself.

The story

The first thing you should know is that a more appropriate title for this movie would be Divorce Story. I want to start there because I don’t want you to imagine that the movie will start happy and then proceed to fall apart.

Marriage Story begins with both characters reading a list of the reasons that they love each other. This is accompanied by a montage showing examples of the things being mentioned. The reading is for us to know where the relationship was before things fell apart. Once both lists are finished we are brought to the reason for the lists being made. The two are sitting in a mediator’s office, and he asked them to make the lists as part of an exercise.

The relationship is ending because Scarlett Johansson’s character, Nicole, caught Driver’s character, Charlie, cheating. On top of this, she’s realized that she sacrificed everything she wanted for her life to give him what he wanted. She had a budding film career in L.A. before moving to New York with him to join his theater company. He’s a play director, and over the course of the relationship, his career has blossomed. She’s been the star of his shows, which has been great if not lucrative, but she always wanted to be in film.

She has regrets, and these feelings come out over the course of the movie. Of course, Charlie has his own thoughts on the marriage and these come out as well. If the end of the relationship isn’t enough, the situation is further complicated by the fact that they have a young son who is caught in the middle of it all. For me, this was the most important aspect of the story as the custody battle is the true source of the tension.

With divorce rates above 50 percent in America, most of us have been touched by divorce in some way, so this is likely to hit close to home for many.

It’s not all bad, though. There are many funny moments throughout that keep the mood from being completely depressing. They aren’t always funny moments for the characters, but they are for us.

The acting

This is honestly the best part of Marriage Story. I gained a newfound respect for Driver’s abilities over the course of the film and agree that he should be at the top of all awards lists. Laura Dern plays Nicole’s lawyer, and she is a scene-stealer as high-powered attorney, Nora Fanshaw.

I was not as impressed by Johansson as many seem to be but I am not going to say she shouldn’t be receiving the praise she is. I think my feelings for the way her character navigates the situation could be affecting my feelings for the performance.

There are two scenes in particular that people are talking about and both will sneak up on you. The first is an argument between Nicole and Charlie that gets very intense. The second is a more tame moment that hit harder for me than the first. I don’t want to be the one to spoil anything but these were the performance peaks for both characters and the scenes you’ll see on their reels should they be nominated for major awards.

Overall

Marriage Story will definitely hit home for anyone who has been through a divorce or even the end of a long-term relationship. Both parties are rarely equally affected by the end of things and when that happens it gets ugly. People say the things that they’ve been holding back and they make petty moves to win points. All of this happens throughout the movie and they will affect you.

I found myself understanding Nicole’s feelings but not appreciating the way she handled things. At the same time, I found myself feeling sorry for Charlie. For that reason, I will say that I enjoyed the movie because it made me care. However, if you can’t relate to or connect with either of the characters I can see this movie being very boring for you. The characters are the draw and if the characters don’t win you over, the movie won’t.