I wasn't particularly going to watch Marriage Story last night but I just did. I thought it would give me a better handle in the state of the cultural arts of our film industry (strictly confidentially on ermotions, and performances all across the movie spectrum...actors, decor sets, locales, storyline, music score, music tunes, makeups, wardrobes, camera angles and focus, high dynamic range, colors accuracy, natural elements mixed with special effects, ...brief everything that breathe in films and beyond).
There are few approaches I could take, but the best one is what's inside the viewer experience, in this case here, me.
After half hour into it I said inside...this is boring I'm not sure if I can handle more ... (the film is two hours and seventeen minutes long ... take out the rolling credits ... no don't, the music is always best during the end rolling credits...generally often).
Well, after reaching the one hour barrier I was in the ride, right inside of it with Adam, Scarlett, Laura, Ray, Alan, Merritt, Julie, Azhy, ... the complete enchilada and the story resolving around a marriage in divorce stage between NY and LA.
There were boring parts, there were funny parts, there were acting parts, there were controlled parts (no one got hurt, no shots fired). I like the court part, the evaluation part.
On it's own (without comparing with other films) ...
Overall:
65
You know...a number (rating movie score) doesn't mean dic.
Because it has zero value for two different evaluators (film readers).
Like I said, I could have approached it differently and it would have been as valid.
The best approach is the one we feel inside and based on our knowledge and own life's experiences and beliefs. After all we are still humans, not yet fully Artificial Intelligence controlled robots.
Last word: Without giving it a shot you'll never truly know (same exact thing with everything else in life). And what one person's view is is another's different perspective ...
For me personally, this flick won't get an Oscar for Best Picture, for Best Director, for Best Screenplay, for Best Actor, for Best Actress, ...it's Best as a TV Soap Opera Oscar winner.
Do they have a category like that @ the Academy Awards? If not just forget it and watch it for what it is...a TV soap opera show/movie. It lacks everything that makes life more fun to enjoy.
It's for soap opera lovers and you can't take that away from them.
And that, is what I truly feel this movie brought to me @ my own table (the book of dreams in movie-land, with a bar of bath soap).
* The evaluating lady (Martha Kelly) ... was interesting to watch interacting with Adam.
And @ the end of that evaluation period, Adam gave her a good dose of "adrenaline pumping". Lol