Marriage Story

If you want a feel-good flick, I strongly advise you to reconsider watching "Marriage Story". I am NOT saying it's a bad film, in fact, it's amazingly good. But it's also amazingly realistic....and painful to watch due to the subject matter.

The story is an ultra-realistic story about a marriage that is dissolving...and it's painful because the viewer really grows to like Charlie (Adam Driver) and Nicole (Scarlett Johansson). Like real life, neither character is totally bad and you understand both of their positions during the divorce....but it also is very ugly and awful to see what happens when lawyers get involved. Instead of the amicable divorce they both originally agreed to, it soon becomes ugly....and the pair and their devilish lawyers begin going at each other like pitbulls on a side of beef! Again...this is NOT a criticism...it's realistic and heart-wrenching to watch. I found myself crying during some of the ugliest scenes....and I am sure I wasn't alone in the theater!

Overall, you see Johansson and Driver put on some amazing performances....so amazing that I'd be shocked if they aren't at least Oscar-nominated for this film. Well done in every way...and one of the better movies of 2019.

Marriage Story directed by Noah Baumbach is an extremely well observed portrayal of two people who once loved each other and are now going through the painfull and ugly process of separation and divorce with a son torn between them.

Thanks to the great script this process is shown in an impartial way where both sides are relatable. The acting by Driver and Johansson is phenomenal and arguably the best i have seen this year. They are nailing the quiet moments as well as the loud.

I only had some minor issues with the movie. I think some of the side characters like Charlies lawyer and some of the people working at the theater are stereotyped. Also the humor felt sometimes forced and out of place.

Marriage Story is a pretty great movie and one of the best of 2019. If Ingmar Bergman is too bleak for you and Woody Allen too quirky, this movie sits right between them and you will love it.

Never has a depiction of tying shoelaces made me so emotional. This film was an incredibly realistic depiction of divorce and the extreme toll it can take on both parties. Simultaneously an exhausting film it is also very humorous and true. Both of the main actors gave the most amazing performances. Although everyone wants a happy ending, life seldom works out in the way hoped for. This film gets dark but there is a bright yet stunted light at the end of the tunnel. Neither wife nor husband get what they had ultimately wanted yet they both are content. There is a strange serenity that sets in at the end of the film. Nothing can be perfect, but with enough effort, everything can be enough.

I didn't expect this to mirror how my ex wife and I had to go through the stages of divorce so accurately. My son was only 2 when we were divorced and all of the ups and downs and petty fights and anger that we had for each other was exhausting but we went through it all just to fight for him, who we both love more than anything. We said horrible things to each other we can never take back but we didn't really mean and we both eventually found a way to make it work for him and to protect him from the ugliness. We made it through to the other side and have a good relationship now and work as a team to raise him with love and support but it was a long road out of hell to get there. This movie portrayed that in a way I would never have expected. It made me cry numerous times thinking of how hopeless and angry I was for so long and in that I feel like this movie deserves every accolade it gets. It felt genuine and painful but with hope at the end. It's real and powerful.

Absolutely heartbreaking. I loved every minute of it.

Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson give the best performances of their careers. They are so damn good here.

Great writing and direction. A beautiful and depressing film.