Two or three weeks ago I began hearing about certain levels of Marriage Story discomfort among older couples. Even about walk-outs, believe it or not. Which is crazy because (a) Marriage Story is obviously a first-rate, grade-A film about real-life angst and mistakes and hurdles, and with excellent performances up and down from Adam Driver, Scarjo, Laura Dern, Ray Liotta and Alan Alda, and (b) all good films serve truth-and-honesty sauce, and in so doing provide nourishment for the soul.
Who the hell would lean over and whisper in their significant other’s ear, “Uhm, look, this movie is kinda weirding me out…it’s taking me back to my divorce in the ’90s and I’d rather concentrate on the here-and-now…is it okay if I meet you outside the theatre after it’s over?”
What’s past is past, and difficult times with an ex-wife shouldn’t have any significant bearing upon your current situation. (Unless you’re exactly the same person you were 20 years ago.) What kind of an emotional weakling would run like a coward from Marriage Story?