Margot at the Wedding Review

"Margot At The Wedding" reviews

Movie

Margot At The Wedding

Author

anonymous

Date reviewed

2008-02-25 08:59:33

Provider

Review

For his follow-up to the critically acclaimed The Squid and The Whale, Noah Baumbach again focuses his gaze on dysfunctional family relationships .

Margot and Pauline Zeller (Nicole Kidman and Jennifer Jason Leigh) are estranged sisters brought back together when uptight Margot accepts hippyish Pauline's invitation to her wedding at the old family home. Margot arrives with her decidedly mature son, Claude (Zane Pais) and everyone politely dances around her narcissism and hang-ups while she, throws the focus on her doubts about her sister's planned marriage to the loving, but unemployed slacker, Michael (Jack Black).

The story is driven by vignettes revolving around tree-climbing, neighbourhood feuds, stilted romantic affairs, an ill-fated book reading and a missing dog, all of which fuel the tension, giving opportunities for Baumbach's naturally sensitive and idiosyncratic characters to experience (and sometimes communicate) their familial torment.

Newcomer Paris inhabits his role as Kidman's introverted yet erudite son perfectly. His one-on-ones with his cousin and, in fact, any other cast member, are scene-stealers. Kidman creates a performance similar in stature to her Virginia Woolf in The Hours. Then Jennifer Jason Leigh proves what an accomplished talent she is once more, as the natural chemistry between her and Black radiates from the screen.

Ciaran Hinds and John Turturro are also on hand in fine cameos, while Flora Cross (first seen in The Bee Season) and Halley Feiffer (from Squid...) both give very different, but very adult, performances despite their relatively tender years. The film, though imbibed with romantic nuance, witty one-liners and equal dollops of melancholy and pathos, is much more than a black comedy. The performers really inhabit their world and consequently end up inhabiting yours.

Baumbach's attention to the subtleties of family relationships - passing looks, body language - and apparently incidental detail (and no small amount of beguiling set-dressing) makes the film hum with emotion. Add to that the gorgeously wistful, almost rose-tinted framing of the whole thing and it becomes a memorably sensory experience.

Baumbach has an exciting future in film. Margot At The Wedding is his second small film and, like Squid, it's perfectly formed with a huge heart.

Movie

Margot at the Wedding

Author

anonymous

Date reviewed

2008-02-21 00:34:28

Provider

CinemaSource

Review

Sometimes comical, oftentimes emotionally raw, this slice-of-life drama may just remind you of your own family.

Story

Sibling rivalry is alive and well in this well-told tale of two estranged sisters who reunite for one's wedding, with explosive emotional results. Margot (Nicole Kidman) and her teenage son, Claude (Zane Pais), leave the big city and travel to her family's home, where sister Pauline (Jennifer Jason Leigh) is getting married. The sisters haven't spoken in years, and we soon see why: Margot, a well-known writer who is incredibly self-involved, is extremely judgmental and something of a bitch. She immediately begins to verbally tear at Pauline (a college professor), making her doubt her decision to marry. The fiancée, Malcolm (Jack Black), is admittedly something of a slacker, but he does clearly love Pauline, despite his massive insecurities which surface as Margot refuses to hide her disdain for him. Ironically, as Margot sabotages Pauline's relationship, her own life--her marriage, her not-so-secret affair, and with her son--are crumbling around her.

Acting

Nicole Kidman's acting style is often so mannered, it seem almost emotionless, which serves her well in her role as Margot. She's a character that is desperately trying to hold everything inside, but her life is such a mess that the façade begins to crumble as she watches her sister Pauline move towards a happy ending. This time out, Kidman deftly shows us the cracks in the façade, and gives a compelling performance as a woman who is unraveling before our eyes. Jennifer Jason Leigh (who happens to be married to Noah Baumbach, the film's writer-director) is well cast as the younger sister who hates and loves Margot in the same breath, and still allows her to get deep under her skin. Jack Black also gives a nuanced turn as the shlubby fiancée, who dreams of being a success but never does much about making it actually happen. And newcomer Zane Pais is completely believable as Margot's 13-year-old son, who loves his slightly smothering mother but is beginning to grow away from her.

Direction

Writer-director Noah Baumbach, whose serio-comedy The Squid and the Whale was nominated for Best Original Screenplay in 2005, marks Margot at the Wedding as his follow-up effort, proving he is still a sharply observant author who explores dysfunctional family relationships with insight and verve. The look of Margot is sort of a messy one, shot using a slightly grainy film stock that mirrors the chaos happening internally for all the assorted characters who find themselves thrown together at the wedding. The cinematic style may put some viewers off, but it certainly works for the story. The best thing about Baumbach's work, however, is his dialogue. The conversations the family members engage in are multilayered, with the things they don't say as obvious as the things they do. He's one of the few writers working in film today who can draw a cringe of compassion out of even the most jaded viewer. With Margot at the Wedding, Baumbach forces us to think about the words we say to our own loved ones--and how harmful they can be if uttered without thinking them through.