Wednesday, January 02, 2008

Margot at the Wedding (2007)

Wow, this is one of those movies that is hard to wrap your head around. It was honestly the most melodrama I think I've experienced in a 90 minute stretch. I felt so unnerved by the end of it I pledged I would never act like that around my family. I'm thinking this is director Noah Baumbach's intention because he's no stranger to these situations in his films. It's hard to say I enjoyed this film because the characters are just so erratic and rude, but at the same time it shows such a truthful ugly side of humanity. The portrayals of the characters by the cast was beautifully done with special nods to Jennifer Jason Leigh and John Turturro (who, granted was only there for 5 minutes, but totally rocked it). Jack Black had an unconvincing crying scene, who my friend told me later that's how boy's cry (I still think it was bad acting). Also, aside from that, the only thing that bugged me was the unstable camera composition. I understand maybe Baumbach was trying to illustrate the family's unrest with a shaky cam, but I think it was used cheaply.
The film's ending was really open, in that I was interested to see how the character's resolved their melodrama. Up until the final minutes there was so much that wasn't explained about the actions of the characters. It's interesting how Baumbach uses this lack of information given to pull in the audience with suspense. The film is such a snapshot of these characters' lives that you never get a chance to understand fully their ideas and desires.
I guess I recommend this film if you are interested in a family melodrama case study. Beware feelings of anxiety that may come while watching it.

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