Noah Baumbach both wrote and directed this perfectly developed piece of cinematic art - one of the most incisive examinations of the love core of marriage and the peripheral inanities that dissolve the legal union while allowing the sense of 'us' as a family to persist. The cast is rich in peak performances: Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver as the couple with Azhy Robertson as their son (a key reason for the importance of family), Merritt Weaver and Julie Hagerty as the maternal family, and Laura Dern, Ray Liotta and Alan Alda as the three egregious lawyers who staple together a costly divorce.
Not only is the subject of marriage and divorce as superbly explored by Johansson and Driver insightful, but also the role of lawyers enacting the harsh realities of divorce is as polished as it is harsh. The musical score by Randy Newman underlines the drama without ever inundating it, and the cinematography by Robbie Ryan is exemplary.
But in the end the kudos belong to Noah Baumbach: he has created an important and impressive film that will likely become the definitive dissection of marriage and divorce and the lasting glue of family. Grady Harp, May 21.
Not only is the subject of marriage and divorce as superbly explored by Johansson and Driver insightful, but also the role of lawyers enacting the harsh realities of divorce is as polished as it is harsh. The musical score by Randy Newman underlines the drama without ever inundating it, and the cinematography by Robbie Ryan is exemplary.
But in the end the kudos belong to Noah Baumbach: he has created an important and impressive film that will likely become the definitive dissection of marriage and divorce and the lasting glue of family. Grady Harp, May 21.