Sorry, I've loved Baumbach's stuff in the past, but Marriage Story was a major disappointment for me. An overlong farrago of cliches and well-worn vignettes, right down to the "Oh, we can be civillised and not involve lawyers, can't we?" bit, that's predictably followed, minutes later by The March of the Power-Dressed Lawyers, a trope so familiar it should have it's own theme music. Johansson's good, but there's not much she can do up against the dead-eyed, wooden and - as far as I could tell - sedated Driver, while everyone else, even the excellent Laura Dern, plays a cartoon version of their characters. Driver can sing, that's for sure, but while I love "Company" the inclusion here baffles me. The whole thing is like Woody Allen directing (the equally odious) Kramer vs Kramer, and brings absolutely nothing new to the table. I put it right up there with The Irishman as there were so many other, better, more imaginative and better acted films this year - Monos, If Beale Street Could Talk, The Favourite, In Fabric, The Last Black Man in San Francisco - that i find it dispiriting these two tired retreads should be held up, instead, as the best of the year.But what do I know? It's New Year's Eve and I'm sitting here writing this!
Adam Kimmel ● 1549d