Writer: Noah Baumbach
Cast: Nicole Kidman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Jack Black
Margot is a successful writer who is intelligent and can be very condescending. She is visiting the home she grew up in with her son to attend her sister Pauline's wedding with whom she has not talked for some time. She is not impressed by the groom and starts what others consider to be meddling.
The film's tagline is : 'One Family...Infinite degrees of Separation'. They had an abusive father which could have affected their personality growing up. The short stories that Margot writes tend to be autobiographic which is one of the reason for her troubles with Pauline. The very condescending nature of Margot is evident when she dishes out suggestions to what others should do and she considers herself impervious to irrationality and feelings. There is a scene in which she is having a talk about her book and when the interviewer asks how autobiographical it is about the abusive father in the book, she starts talking about her father. The interviewer then interrupts and says that he meant her as a parent upon which she breaks down realizing how she has come a full circle. The film kind of reminded me of About Schmidt even though the protagonists are complete opposites.
This was Noah Baumbach's second film after his debut feature 'The Squid and the Whale' for which he was nominated at the academy awards. He managed to get the star cast working below their usual pay to do this film. I actually liked this film more than the much more acclaimed Squid and the Whale.
Rating: 4/5
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