< Home / Interview / Critic / Bio / My articles in Japanese >

N.Y.F.F 45th :Margot at the Wedding Audio

Written by Nobuhiro Hosoki

 

Press conference at New York Film Festival with director Noah Baumbach, Actress Nicole Kidman,

Actress Jenniffer Jason Leigh, Actor John Turturro

In "Margot at the Wedding," an emulation of the New York-based comedy style of Woody Allen, director Noah Baumbach creates a turbulent follow-up to the autobiographic tale, "The Squid and Whale" by keenly observing a sibling rivalry through a distinctive comic approach. A short-story writer, Margot(Nicole Kidman), a high-strung, judgmental woman, is taking a journey with her puberty-pushing son, Claude (Zane Paris) to visit her about-to-be-married estranged sister Pauline (Jennifer Jason Leigh). In preparing for marriage, Margot finds herself drawn to conflict on every occasion--reinforcing her own intelligence by verbally abusing Pauline and her fiance, Malcolm (Jack Black), an unemployed self-styled artist. As she claims, "He's like guys we rejected when we were 16."

To top off this rocky relationship, Pauline resents Margot's previous book, which exposes her first marriage by dissecting it in a story. Their intimate personal conflict doesn't even stop them from realizing that they're doing it in front of the children, Claude and Ingrid (Flora Cross), Pauline's daughter. In the midst of all these brutally honest dialogues, Margot also must deal with an unfulfilling connection with her husband Jim (John Turturro) and her former lover, Dick (Ciaran Hinds) who humiliates her at the local bookstore with his blunt questions about the autobiographical nature of her book. She can't seem to trust or depend on those closest to her. Family baggage weighs in, with Pauline's hidden agenda that she's pregnant.

Throughout the film, you find too many neurotic characters for its own good, but director Baumbach creates strong dialogues and authentic scenes by constantly charging up the family dynamics--slashing right to the bone. He also sets the rhythm via handheld camerawork by lenser Harris Savides who gets in close with extremely dim and low light. Nicole Kidman brings her nastiness and darker element, and simultaneously, her humorous side. In the end, family accusation might be the only fundamental communication here.

Written and directed by Noah Baumbach
Director of photography: Harris Savides
Edited by Carol Littleton
Production designer: Anne Ross
Produced by Scott Rudin
Released by Paramount Vantage.
Running time: 93 minutes.

Cast: Nicole Kidman (Margot)
Jennifer Jason Leigh (Pauline)
Zane Pais (Claude)
Jack Black (Malcolm)
John Turturro (Jim)
Flora Cross (Ingrid),
and Ciaran Hinds (Dick).