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Adam’s most memorable moments in “Marriage Story” are certainly 1.) the one where he drops to his knees before Scarlett and 2.) sings “Being Alive”.
But what are others ranked by dramatic impact. Some colleagues are putting together a 15-second clip reel of his MS highlights: Which scenes MUST they include?
ReplyThe scene where he has cut himself and winds up writhing in pain on the floor after the social worker’s visit, and also of course the big scene where they (husband and wife) start out calmly discussing their impending divorce and then they blow up at each other, the single best acted scene of 2019.
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The scene where he has cut himself and winds up writhing in pain on the floor after the social worker’s visit,
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That scene made me wince and cringe but for all the right reasons. Such a stupid yet perfectly human moment. And then the little kid shows up and asks how he’s doing while he’s passing out on the floor.ReplyCopy URLJohn's Best of 2020
Best Picture: Soul
Best Director: George Clooney-The Midnight Sky
Best Actor: Chadwick Boseman-Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
Best Actress: Viola Davis-Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
Best Supporting Actor: Delroy Lindo-Da Five Bloods
Best Supporting Actress: Amanda Seyfried-Mank
Best Original Screenplay: Soul
Best Adapted Screenplay: The Midnight SkyCharlie reading Nicole’s letter
“He has to know I fought for him…”
And of course, Charlie and Nicole’s big fight scene. We finally see it Charlie not hold back on how he’s feeling. We finally see them really go at it with one another even though the entire movie is about their relationship ending. They’ve both been mostly reserved and cool about it. Great acting.
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For the longest time it was the letter reading scene that was my favorite, but it’s becoming number two for me now. I keep finding myself going back to “Being Alive.” It just keeps getting richer and more rewarding with each rewatch. Something about the change in his face, in the subtle emotion in his voice and the seriousness and how you can tell that the meaning of the song *is* getting to him. Driver just conveys it so damn well.
Third is probably the scene with Alan Alda’s Bert where Charlie asks if he’s paying for this joke. It’s the moments leading up to it because he doesn’t say anything at first, but as Bert is telling the joke, you can see it all on his face. It’s his expression, his body language. He’s nervous, he’s frustrated, this is NOT going how he thought it would and he’s expecting counsel and some wisdom from his lawyer, this guy who he’s entrusted his future with his kid with and instead he’s getting, you know, a joke. And time is ticking away. You see all of that, you get all of that from Driver’s nonverbal acting and then the line, but it’s not biting, it’s not sarcastic–which would have been the easy route to take in delivery. Instead, he says it with a humorless pain. And that just says it all because that is what his life has become now: a joke without any laughter.
And sandwiched between “Being Alive” and the joke in my ranking is his reaction to Nicole’s letter. I’ve read a lot about how well Adam Driver uses micro-expressions in his acting and this was a prime example. He does and conveys so much without going all out (although he can do that as well–see the fight scene). The love, the pain, *everything* that Charlie had and lost is all conveyed in that letter-reading scene. It’s just gut-wrenching, heartbreaking and beautifully done.
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