New York Film Festival 2019 (forum)

[Chris Knipp]

MARRIAGE STORY (Noah Baumach 2019)

Performances by Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson that are virtuoso yet engaging and real. Here Baumbach takes up the subject of divorce from the point of view of the couple that he treated from the kids' POV in The Squid and the Whale, which was in the 2005 NYFF (the first one covered on Filmleaf). This adult angle also reflects a larger-spirited, more generous view of things (he's looking at his own divorce, where before he was looking at his parents'), and also a more relaxed, confident filmmaking style. Sharp turns by Laura Dern and Ray Liotta. Some think this harrowing and shrill, but it's just honest and emotionally raw: wonderful. One of the year's best American films.

NYF Centerpiece Film, shown first 6 p.m. Friday, October 4, 2019 at Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center.