Review of Margot at the Wedding

This title is actually a clever pun about weddings, I guess

Another damned “I love it, wouldn’t change a thing review.” I’m sorry, but it’s Noah Baumbach’s fault. Baumbach’s film are a big part of my personal canon. I can watch his work many times and feel something different with each viewing as time passes and my life changes. I remember first falling in love with his films years ago while in university. I watched Kicking and Screaming many times in those years, and oh how it made me laugh! A while after graduating I recall revisiting Kicking and Screaming expecting to respond in the same way, but instead it hit me like a ton of bricks. What was previously all funny quips and sight gags suddenly became all too poignant; a perfect reflection of my direction-less life and wayward friendships. Sorry if that's a little Livejournal-y. Point is: guy makes amazing movies. Deceptively so. Still, I went into his latest feature Margot at the Wedding with my guard up. He finally received much greater attention with The Squid and the Whale, and this had all the makings of the popular "post brush with success fuck up." Nicole Kidman? Jennifer Jason Leigh? I hate Nicole Kidman and I haaaaaaate Jennifer Jason Leigh, but, amazingly, I really enjoyed both of them in this one. Kidman works because her character is neurotic, nosy, cruel, and generally reprehensible, so it's okay to hate her. Leigh works because her character is exactly tailored to her strengths. Baumbach is her husband and the two collaborated on the script. The only other movie I have ever enjoyed seeing Leigh in was The Anniversary Party, another project she collaborated on. Jenny, more writing; less mopey, irritating caricatures. I guess most people would have asked, ''Jack Black?'' instead, but I have always enjoyed him. Although he provides the comic relief here, he plays most of the film straight and proves his ability to do so. I would like to see JB do more in the way of dramatic acting. He's got the chops for it. Despite bringing in a couple big names to the picture, Baumbach avoids all of the traps of the follow-up to his biggest success. If anything, the freedom allowed by that success only seems to have put him at greater ease. Margot has a far more casual feel than his previous work. I love the quips of those earlier films, but Baumbach seems to no longer be interested in bombarding the audience with just how clever his dialogue is. There may be another film where that is appropriate, but showing restraint with Margot was the smart choice. Oh yeah: the plot. Kidman returns to her childhood home to see her sister, Leigh, get married to her boyfriend of six months, Black. The two had a falling out years prior, and despite this attempt at reconcilation, their relationships remains strained near the breaking point. During the course of the visit, Kidman's young teenage son often works as the valve for his mother's anger and frustration. Eventually everything gets fucked, natch. Sorry, this is all very boring. Blah blah movie am good plus people act real good blah. It's funny, it's clever, it's moving. Like The Squid and the Whale it's not always an easy watch, but it will likely prove to be one of the best of the year, so watch it. Better yet, make this a double bill with The Savages and kill yourself. Aaron. whatsaninternet.blogspot.com

Posted on 09/18/07 by: Aaron 11:22 PM

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