First of all, let me just say that I have never seen Noah Baumbach's other film The Squid and the Whale. I've been meaning to, but have just never gotten around to it. Having said that however, I must say that I really enjoyed his second and latest film, Margot at the Wedding. that I saw the premeire of last sunday at the New York Film festival.
The film stars Nicole Kidman as Margot, a neurotic author and mother of one who returns with her son (Zane Pais) to her parents home for the wedding of her sister, played by Jennifer Jason Leigh, to a Malcolm, played by Jack Black. From here, we watch as Margot deals with the chaos that comes from the trip, as well as her own inner problems.
I'm generally not a fan of films that deal with "real issues". You know, they type where everyone seems depressed and it seems like everything goes wrong, and then eventually someone either dies, cheats, or goes crazy. However, I am happy to say that while Margot at the Wedding is technically one of these films, it is able to escape the regular cliches that appear in those types of films by using something different: humour.
I'm not saying that Margot at the Wedding is a straight up comedy by any means, but during the film, even at the most dramatic and serious scenes, the film keeps a smile on your face. It also doesn't hurt that the characters are extremely likeable, even the ones that aren't supposed to be, and are easy to identify with.
Of course, the film still does suffer from some of the cliche's of the films of it's type. I couldn't forgive some of the pretentious shots that I felt the film didn't need (I guess the masturbation scene was supposed to help us understand Margot as a character, but I felt it went on for way too long). Also, when the film ends, you can't help but feel that nothing has been resolved. The screen just sort of goes blank. But perhaps this is the point? That life never really has a general conclusion? Or not...
7/10
The film stars Nicole Kidman as Margot, a neurotic author and mother of one who returns with her son (Zane Pais) to her parents home for the wedding of her sister, played by Jennifer Jason Leigh, to a Malcolm, played by Jack Black. From here, we watch as Margot deals with the chaos that comes from the trip, as well as her own inner problems.
I'm generally not a fan of films that deal with "real issues". You know, they type where everyone seems depressed and it seems like everything goes wrong, and then eventually someone either dies, cheats, or goes crazy. However, I am happy to say that while Margot at the Wedding is technically one of these films, it is able to escape the regular cliches that appear in those types of films by using something different: humour.
I'm not saying that Margot at the Wedding is a straight up comedy by any means, but during the film, even at the most dramatic and serious scenes, the film keeps a smile on your face. It also doesn't hurt that the characters are extremely likeable, even the ones that aren't supposed to be, and are easy to identify with.
Of course, the film still does suffer from some of the cliche's of the films of it's type. I couldn't forgive some of the pretentious shots that I felt the film didn't need (I guess the masturbation scene was supposed to help us understand Margot as a character, but I felt it went on for way too long). Also, when the film ends, you can't help but feel that nothing has been resolved. The screen just sort of goes blank. But perhaps this is the point? That life never really has a general conclusion? Or not...
7/10
That's Nicole Kidman on the far right. Although from the quality of this picture, it could be a blotch on the picture and you wouldn't notice a difference.
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