Hey, everyone. ”Moriarty” here. Noah Baumbach’s coming on strong these days, and I’m hoping MARGOT AT THE WEDDING continues that ascent for him. I love the cast, and I’m itching to see this one as soon as possible. Check out this early reaction:
I saw writer-director Noah Baumbach's new film MARGOT AT THE WEDDING at a tiny preview screening almost a week ago. The greeter told us we were the first audience, but they must have been pretty confident because with an October release they were cutting it fine for any re-shoots, and we were shown what looked like a completely finished print – music, credits, the works. We were given comment cards to fill out our opinions but there wasn't even the usual discussion group afterwards, which struck me as odd. Apparently they're hoping to premiere at either Venice or Toronto, the latter being the more likely option. They said they would have even been ready to screen at Cannes, but are waiting for a later festival premiere to build Oscar buzz. I think they know they have a gem on their hands with this one. The story is very simple, very minimal but the beauty is in the way it plays itself out. Nicole Kidman plays Margot, a successful but neurotic writer who comes to visit her free-spirited sister Pauline (Jennifer Jason Leigh), who she has a strained history with and hasn't been in contact with for a long time. Pauline is getting married to Malcolm (Jack Black), a man Margot makes no attempt to hide her disapproval of to spare Pauline's feelings. The most crucial aspects of character-driven relationship movies are always the acting and writing, and I am happy to report that the acting and writing here is top-notch, Oscar-worthy. It's much more mature and sophisticated than your usual dysfunctional-family "dramedy" like, say, Little Miss Sunshine. I found it closer to Alexander Payne movies like Sideways or About Schmidt, and it also has a distinctly 70s feel: not only obvious points of comparison like Woody Allen, Robert Altman or John Cassavetes, but also Paul Mazursky (An Unmarried Woman), Hal Ashby (Being There, Harold and Maude) or Eric Rohmer (Claire's Knee, My Night at Maud's, Love in the Afternoon). The best description of it is as a very witty, intelligent, honest and perceptive comedy-drama. Nicole Kidman gives easily her best performance since Dogville or Birth. Her character Margot is aloof, eccentric and pretty damaged. She is not just a little messed-up or troubled, she is a train-wreck waiting to implode. Rather than having any one explosive "Oscar-bait" scene, she is quietly stunning throughout. I don't think it's TOO subtle for Oscar voters to respond to, though – this is still a very juicy, emotionally complex female leading role in a great movie, and there aren't too many of those around these days. After a string of recent disappointments, Kidman's performance here should put her back at the top of the Hollywood tree where she belongs (and there is one very funny humiliation scene involving a tree). Margot will go down as one of the major roles of her career. As Pauline, Baumbach's real-life wife Jennifer Jason Leigh gives one of the standout supporting performances of the year. She's been off our screens for a while, and her big comeback here is very welcome. She looks attractively weathered at 45, but the real revelation is her performance. Now I've always admired Leigh, but in the past there have been those who found her a touch mannered or jittery. Not so here. She plays Pauline with a breezy sensuality, grace and warmth that is very new for her and surprisingly fits her like a glove. There are a few scenes, like when Pauline confronts Margot about their shared past and how she is mishandling her life in the present, that really remind us of what a great actress Leigh can be when she gets worthy material. Best comeback performance since Virginia Madsen in Sideways, and a surefire Oscar contender. The supporting cast is uniformly excellent in an unobtrusive way. Jack Black is excellent as Malcolm, though probably not what Jack Black fans are expecting. He is funny in a low-key, understated way, but he is gracious in never trying to steal the movie from the two ladies. He plays this one just right – broad but not cartoonish or overzealous – and for some reason he kept reminding me of Jack Nicholson in Terms of Endearment. His chemistry with Leigh is superbly natural and quirky. As a couple, they really play to each other's rhythms and humor beautifully in their scenes together. One of the big discoveries of the year will be Zane Pais, the child actor who plays Margot's troubled son Claude. His interactions with Kidman are priceless, and he is every bit as natural and unaffected as Jesse Eisenberg or Owen Kline were in The Squid and the Whale. There is also nice work from John Turturro as Margot's bewildered, long-suffering husband Jim, Ciarán Hinds in a role that it's probably best not to say much about, 14-year-old Flora Cross (who was terrific in the Richard Gere-Juliette Binoche movie Bee Season a few years ago), Squid veteran Halley Feiffer, the stage/TV actress Ashlie Atkinson, and Leigh's real-life mother Barbara Turner as Aunt Becky. "Excellent but unobtrusive" is also how I'd describe all the tech credits, with a special nod to the beautifully golden, autumn-hued cinematography of Harris Savides who always does great work (Birth, Zodiac, Elephant, The Game). The East Quogue and other Long Island locations look gorgeous. Baumbach is reaching the big leagues with MARGOT AT THE WEDDING. This is the film that will have all the big-name actors clamoring to work with him because, as good as his directing is, it's his screenwriting that's the real gem, and actors just love saying lines like these. He has a flawless ear for the way people talk to each other in real life, and making it feel wonderfully funny, compassionate and wise rather than mundane. As for its Oscar chances: if Baumbach doesn't win the Best Original Screenplay Oscar for this one I'll eat my hat. Jennifer Jason Leigh is a shoo-in for Best Supporting Actress, both Nicole Kidman and Jack Black stand a very solid chance, and I wouldn't even be surprised if it ended up with Best Picture or Director nominations. It could be this year's "little" film. Just don't let it slip under the radar.
