Stourley Kracklite

My comment was deleted. I have no need to explain why. If you are in agreement with the agenda to change social norms how does silencing others’ criticism of such make your point?

Catherine Deneuve is rock solid as Fabienne, an actor who has always pounded the square peg into the round hole, consequences be damned. Fabienne’s daughter, Lumir, is forced into the role of Fabienne’s personal assistant upon the abrupt resignation of Luc. Her acquiescence to this is not well motivated given the previous development of their relationship. Fabienne’s and Luc’s later rapprochement is underdeveloped in both dialog and motivation. This the movie’s big missed opportunity. Manon Clavel is good as the young actor whose growing stature intimidates Fabienne. Clavel avoids overplaying the part and imports the character with not mere ambition but also kindness. Ethan Hawke reprises his role in Maggie’s Plan. I would have ended the movie with the scene in which Lumir asks her daughter if Fabienne believed the lines Lumir had written. The rest of the movie is bow-tying and plot splaining. The director should have trusted his instinct to stay in the Bergman lane. Arau-esque lushness, such as the lovely dance scene, doesn’t concentrate the drama. Let Pierre (Roger Van Hool/ tortoise) be the poignant comic relief to an otherwise sharper and somewhat shorter movie.

Excellent performances all around, especially by Laura Dern, who with her performance here, hers in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, and in Little Women, owned 2019. Marriage Story is straightforward but gripping divorce drama which doesn’t take sides.