In light of the recent 2020 Academy Awards, I would like to discuss my personal opinions on a film that received six separate nominations and left with one win: Marriage Story, a Netflix original. I went into this movie with zero expectations, though I was familiar with all of the hype. Disclaimer: I’m far from a film studies major. I know very little about the technical aspects of filmmaking. My opinions come from my personal, recreational affinity for watching good movies.
Overall, my main takeaway from Marriage Story was that it gave me a dose of honesty that left my heart breaking in a slow, steady burn rather than an inferno. Watching the movie, I felt as if I was watching a real-life couple, not characters in a movie. Charlie and Nicole were like my best friend’s parents, messy and real and convoluted. Besides Scarlett Johansson’s familiar face, I almost believed that Charlie (played by Adam Driver) and Nicole were more than mere figments of the imagination brought to life; that they were tangible entities that would exist outside of the film. The movie contrasted so drastically with movies that I typically watch—in the scenes it chose to showcase, in the way it was filmed, in the way it was edited, and in the way the characters were written.
There was an element of humor, particularly in the supporting roles, that simultaneously reminded me that this was a fictional movie while also emphasizing the realness of the characters in all of their idiosyncratic ways. Not only this, but the visual effect of the slightly grainy screen that looked like a filter evoked the essence of old home videos for me, which only served to heighten the effect of stripped-down honesty. The lack of fancy camera angles and techniques and the inclusion of scenes that occasionally made the movie feel unnecessarily long or slow left me with just the bare, central content of Charlie and Nicole’s failing romantic relationship. All I had in front of me was the raw happenings, struggles, and mundane processes of this divorce and the transformation of their familial dynamics that portrayed the intricate, insolvable messiness of life without over-dramatization. The movie didn’t over-utilize background music in important scenes; the absence of music that I was so used to in movies amplified the realness once again and drew my attention to the content of the story.
The sheer honesty of this movie was a little hard for me to stomach. Like I previously mentioned, some scenes in the movie were so slow and real that it took me a span of a week-and-a-half to finally finish it. I would have to stop watching at some points because it hurt to see the realities of loving and being human and failing without all of the Hollywood glamour and sugar-coated drama that movies typically have. Yet, when I finally got to the end, the bittersweet, mellow kind of heartbreak and emotional release that I felt was deep in my chest, simmering. I would say that Marriage Story provides viewers with an understanding of families and failing relationships even if the viewer hasn’t experienced it personally. It is mature; it tells the story of life and humanity.
I love the film and think that it’s brilliant, not for its cinematic flashiness (because it seems like it’s intentionally reaching for the opposite end of the spectrum) but because of its purposeful honesty. The essence of the movie is us—people. It’s refreshing to see this piece of art that tells its story through simplicity (although I will always love dramatic elements and fancy cinematography as well).