By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Noah Baumbach
Starring: Adam Driver | Azhy Robertson | Julia Greer | Scarlett Johansson | Wallace Shawn
Country: united_kingdom, united_states
Year: 2019
Running time: 137
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7653254/reference
Michael says: “WHY DIDN’T ANYONE TELL ME MERRIT WEVER WAS IN THIS? She is so amazing in everything she’s in, even a small role like this!
“Noah Baumbach’s well directed and fine acted film about divorce was great. It’s a powerful story, made more so by the strong performances by stars Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver. It was nice particularly to be reminded how good an actor Johansson is when we’re so used to seeing her kick-ass as the Black Widow now. This reminded me of some of her earlier work and why I’ve always enjoyed her work, and why we gave her a Breakout award way back when. I also love Laura Dern, and she is perfect as the lawyer representing Johansson’s character, kind, caring, but oh-so cutthroat and L.A.
“My one complaint about the film was that it felt more like a treatise on the horrible extremes that a divorce can go through, from the – let’s do this ourselves and not involve lawyers — to screaming matches with phrases like, ‘I never loved you,” “I wish you were dead,’ — to the balance that is restored with time, where the caring comes back and people move on. I’m sure this is many people’s experience, and from what I’ve read, it may have been Baumbach’s experience, but it just felt a little bit too, ‘I’m going to show you all the ways people can become monsters during stressful times.’ At a certain point I lost the people that the story was focused on in service of the representations of the people they were playing.
“And what are we going to do with these Netflix films anyway? 4 cats“
Julie B. says: “I agree with this review. I finally got through this film on the third try (fell asleep the first two times!).”It was a painful story which was part of why I found it hard to focus. Also I hated the modern theater stuff Adam Driver’s character did. But yes, strong performances by ScarJo and AD. And Laura Dern was a standout as usual! I’ve always loved LD.
“LD won a golden globe for her supporting perf in this.
“Sorry Michael yes I would have mentioned Merrit Weaver if I had been more awake the first two watches! I discovered MW in “Unbelievable” (thanks to Michael’s rec) and fell in love with her then(such a different character than in this film! A testament to her range.”
