PROVOKR PICK: MARRIAGE STORY
Driver and Johansson Star in Baumbach's Divorce Drama
Noah Baumbach’s portrait of a marriage falling apart was a big winner at the Telluride Film Festival this year and now Marriage Story is set for release. The Netflix-produced film stars Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver as a couple with a young child going through a devastating divorce. Joining Driver and Johansson is an amazing cast that includes Laura Dern, Alan Alda, Ray Liotta, Julie Haggerty and Merritt Weaver.
Driver is Charlie, a stage director in New York City and Johansson plays Nicole, an actress who moves to LA to reignite her stagnant career. Despite still being in love, they can no longer make the marriage work, which is the entry point of the story. Baumbach, the writer-director once married to actress Jennifer Jason Leigh, was influenced by his own bi-coastal divorce to write Marriage Story. Whether or not you’ve experienced divorce, you probably know families affected by it. Nearly 50% of American marriages end in divorce.
Instead of focusing on one character’s point of view, Marriage Story examines it from both partner’s side. There are no clear villains in this story that shows what led to the split, where they are now and also emphasizes that sometimes things just don’t work out. Even if love is still there, a relationship can’t always be saved. The trailer opens with comments from Charlie and Nicole explaining in an almost testimony-like clarity, what they like about each other as their dialogue overlaps before their paths diverge.
Marriage Story gets a limited theatrical release on November 6,2019 followed by a Netflix rollout on December 6, 2019.
