Hello, it’s me, The Blog Complainer and today I’m reviewing a Netflix movie which is something I don’t often do. When I first got Netflix I tried to review every movie that popped up, but after awhile the novelty wore off as most of their films turned out to be really forgettable and not worth my time. It’s only when they are outright atrocious like Polar or Sextuplets that I bothered writing something up because then I had some material to work with.

Something changed late October when the movie Dolemite is my Name was released onto the platform and I was completely amazed by how great it was. It’s one of the funniest movies I have seen all year. Then late November Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman came out and it’s almost a masterpiece. Finally this week Marriage Story came out and, I’m sorry Knives Out, but you have already been dethroned.

Marriage Story from afar looks like a cute romantic comedy but really it’s about the sucky process of getting divorced. There is a great opening which tells us what the husband and wife once liked about each other but as the movie progresses all of that is forgotten as the custody war for the child completely takes over their lives and even the lives of their close friends and family.

What makes this movie so great is, and I was trying to avoid saying it, but it feels “real”. Everyone in this movie feels like a normal person with the same flaws and desires that regular people have. Most of the film shows that we should be rooting for Adam Driver’s character Charlie because he’s the underdog in this battle, but he’s also to blame for most of their problems because he’s very competitive and wants to be in control. Scarlett Johansson’s character Nicole isn’t much better as she doesn’t know when to take control and would rather let somebody do it for her. There is a constant backwards forwards which makes the drama even more compelling.

This is the type of movie where everyone is going to get something out of it because of how realistic it is. Props to the director/writer Noah Baumbach who really did his homework on how both sides of the divorce story go. This is probably my favourite performance from Adam Driver as it definitely deserves an Oscar and I will be very upset if he is snubbed. Scarlett Johansson was also incredible, as were the opposing lawyers in the movie. Same with the young boy who is the most realistic child character I have seen all year. He is confused about the whole situation and not really caring about anything that isn’t in his bubble. Perfect!

I don’t want to delve too much further into this movie as I highly recommend it to anyone reading this review. The bottom line is Marriage Story offers a very realistic story, with flawed characters, great acting and great writing. You’ll feel a variety of different emotions throughout the film just like the two main co-stars. Laughing and crying is probably the biggest one. I don’t feel the need to say any more. Just go and watch it because Marriage Story runs away with a 10/10 and The Blog Complainer Approved Seal. Have a great night and I have been The Blog Complainer, signing out!