Sophia Rodriguez

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This movie was really hard to watch, because of the raw emotion it had. While watching this movie I felt everything this movie gave. The sadness, the needed laughter, the rage, and confusion. Adam Driver was perfect for this role. His anger when fighting with Nicole (Scarlett Johansson) in his apartment, it didn't feel like I was watching a movie, which is one of the things this movie does best. It takes the situation and makes it relatable. It's not dramatized or played down. In the end when their son Henry is reading Nicole's list of things she loves about Charlie (Adam Driver) it's an excellent contrast from the beginning when Nicole doesn't like what she wrote and is angry about their counseling. In the end it shows their growth and maturity about how they still love each other but in a different way, how they are no longer in a battle over their child but can support each other and be co-parents. The characters and their endings are perfect, for example throughout the movie Charlie is seen as selfish about his career and has a very specific lifestyle. His character arch is giving up being in New York and moving to L.A. to be with his son. That also ties him to his father. It is established many times in the movie that Charlie's parents were abusive and negligent, he never really had a family which is why he was so close to Nicole's. Charlie didn't want to be like his father, he wanted to be there for his son. That's why he fought so hard for custody, and even switched to an even more expensive lawyer that he didn't really like. He felt that he needed to do anything to keep his son. There is a quote in this movie where I feel he realizes he has to move to L.A. to be there for his son, "If he stays here and I stay in New York, that's just...then I won't...I'll never get to really be his parent again." As someone with a split household I can relate to what Charlie says. It shows that no matter what his son comes first. This movie is great representation of raising a child between two unhappy people that eventually leads to a divorce and then a custody battle. Some couples are not lucky enough to eventually work things out for a shared custody. I love the way this movie shows how they work it out. It's obvious neither party wanted things to go as far as they did but because Nicole's lawyer kept pushing her to take things further, the situation kept getting bigger and bigger. This movie was beautifully directed and I would definitely recommend watching it.