Writer: Noah Baumbach
Director: Noah Baumbach
Cast: Nicole Kidman, Jack Black, Jennifer Jason Leigh,
Rating: R
Studio: Paramount
Release Date: February 19, 2008
It takes a brave and knowledgeable director to take a smart story and run with it without forcing the depths that the audience sees in the beginning moments. It takes strength for that director to allow things to come to light when they should not before or after the critically correct moment. It shows patience and superiority, but it is altogether rare in an industry that has a lot more duds than geniuses.
Margot at the Wedding ran the risk of being one of those duds. This movie is a dark, dramatic comedy that rests on timing more than anything. The good news is that Noah Baumbach had the intelligent vision and the correct timing to make Margot a true delight to watch.
Movies about writers have always amused me because writers are an interesting bunch. Whether they are stuffy or laid back in their styles, they are always very quirky in their own special way. When done well, this offers a great canvas for a movie. This is especially true when you have an actor that is able to bring life to that literary character. Kidman was certainly the perfect choice for this rough comedy based on life.
Release Information:
Margot at the Wedding started out on the film festival circuit, debuting at the Telluride Film Festival at the end of August. From there, it hit Toronto, New York, and Mill Valley before opening up to a general audience in November. Paramount Home Video already released this film on DVD on February 19, 2008. Margot at the Wedding should be available at all major retailers including online venues such as Amazon where it retails for $19.99.
The Margo at the Wedding Plot
“I haven’t had that thing yet, where you realize that you’re not the most important person in the world.” –Malcolm
This one line in Margot at the Wedding really seems to explain the movie perfectly. Margot, a woman, who decides to come home for her sister’s wedding, only to run away from her life, is self-centered, narcissistic, and comfortable with ruining other people’s lives. She is a life-ruiner. All families have one. This is even more the truth when you consider dysfunctional families.
Margot at the Wedding is a dark (pitch black) comedy about the parameters of a dysfunctional family that just happen to be having/planning a wedding. What could possibly be more fun?
This story revolves around the dysfunctional relationship of the sisters Margot (Nicole Kidman) and Pauline (Jennifer Jason Leigh). Pauline sends Margot an invitation to her wedding to Malcolm (Jack Black), to which Margot replies with a “no” to her RSVP. Later, out of selfishness, she decides to head to the wedding with her eldest son Claude (Zane Paris).
While Margot originally refused to go because she was unwilling to support a bad idea on the part of her sister, she decides to go to see her lover and to get away from her failing marriage. Despite that it is obvious that she is not going to support the idea of Pauline marrying Malcolm, a man she has only known for a short period of time. Margot is naturally judgmental when it comes to her siblings and only gets worse when she learns that Pauline is secretly pregnant and not telling Malcolm!
Margot wants everyone to believe that she comes to the wedding to show her support, though it does not take long to learn of her affection for Dick Koosman (Ciaran Hinds). Not wanting to be near her husband, the childhood home where her sister currently lives presents the perfect opportunity to get away.
Margo and the Wedding was the perfect title for this movie because when Margot is in the room, life revolves around her. You learn a lot about the people in the family, but none in it really gets as much play as Margot and her life and thoughts. For example, Pauline is a teacher, they have a third sister who isn’t really the focus of much, and their dad was abusive.
Malcolm is rather odd and resentful, which makes Black a good choice. He doesn’t seem to do much in the film except play the token boyfriend. As the token boyfriend, he’s there to be there, and does not serve much purpose otherwise. This one is about the women, crazy as they might be.
Baumbach manages to make Margot a smart production that is patient and only reveals what you need to know, when you need to know it. The actors do a lovely job, Kidman is absolutely unlikable and Jennifer Jason Leigh is just magnificent, as usual. As for Jack Black, this isn’t the kind of role you expect him in and yet he does a marvelous job. The result when you add good direction with excellent acting is a great movie with an interesting ending.
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Audio/Visual:
The video quality of Margot at the Wedding is nothing short of perfection. Natural lighting was used for the most part, in order to capture the gloominess of the dysfunctional units in the film. Needless to say, it worked! Everything is natural in appearance and the lack of special lighting comes off quite nicely. There is no grain, softness, noise, or associated unpleasantness to be found.
The Dolby Digital 5.1 audio mix sounds great. This soundtrack is available in English and Spanish. The levels are well controlled, no volume toggling needs to be done, and everything sounds as it should. The dialogue is up front without being loud and the sound effects/score are deep and rich without drowning anything out or causing a distraction from anything else. Subtitles are available in English, French, and Spanish.
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Bonus Features:
Margot at the Wedding offers a few special features. While the majority are standard fare, there is one that is worthwhile and interesting enough to want to pay attention to it. There are two theatrical trailers for the movie, which is fairly standard. In addition, there are a slew of other trailers that you can choose to watch or skip by hitting the menu button on your DVD player.
The only non-trailer feature is a conversation that Baumbach has with Leigh. This feature comes in at 13 minutes and offers clips along with a discussion from Baumbach and the process involved with the actors working with him. As Baumbach and Leigh are married, this conversation is interesting and flows quite easily.
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Bottom Line:
Margot at the Wedding is not your typical movie, but it shares plenty of similarities to other dysfunctional family movies. The moments of comedy are well timed and the director takes great care to ensure that everything is revealed at the right time and not a second before. Margot offers good acting, well thought out direction, and beautiful camera work. While this movie will not be for everyone, if you like an irreverent, dark comedy that doesn’t always seem funny because it’s too cruel to qualify, then Margot is perfect for you. Go rent this one and if you like it, I highly recommend you make the purchase.
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Technorati Tags: Movie, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Margot at the Wedding, Jack Black, Nicole Kidman, Dysfunctional Family, DVD Review
