I think the title of this movie should have been Divorce Story, since that is what occurs over the space of two-plus hours. That shouldn’t be a spoiler, if you’ve seen the preview. But what is revealed during that time, besides the absolute hell of watching a divorce wreak havoc upon a couple and their son, is how they still relate to each other — what drew them together, what started to push them apart, and what will keep them tied to each other for as long as they live, even when they are living separate lives. That is the marriage of Marriage Story.

Noah Baumbach’s film finds actress Nicole (Scarlett Johansson) tiring of her life in New York with theatre director Charlie (Adam Driver). When she gets a role in a TV pilot filming in California, she moves herself and son Henry (Azhy Robertson) to the West Coast and files for divorce. Charlie is suddenly caught needing to be in two places at once all of the time, having to find legal representation and trying not to alienate his son. But it is just as difficult for Nicole, trying to find out who she really is after sublimating herself for years to be wife and mother.

It is a very balanced story, I think, but I definitely had more empathy for Charlie. Adam Driver is exceptional as the man gradually being pushed beyond what he can take; I’ve never seen him better. And I’m not arguing that Nicole is wrong, not at all. I also think the film is an indictment, a very strong, powerful indictment, of how the divorce process has been hijacked by lawyers so that everyone feels that they cannot survive without them. It’s a sad commentary on the way things have become — and yet Laura Dern just won an Oscar for playing a barracuda lawyer named Nora in this film.

There are moments of humor in the story but most of them are ironic and pass by at dizzying speed. There are moments of great tenderness, and of utter fury. One sequence, as Charlie and Nicole discuss things in an empty apartment, is incredibly performed, but is harrowing to witness. This is the kind of film where you wish the characters well at the end, as they go off in different directions, and you hope that the actors were not too traumatized by making the painful thing that you just saw. ☆ ☆ ☆ 1/2. 3 March 2020.