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When Margot's husband Jim (John Turturro) comes calling, it looks for a moment like a savior has come to the scene. He seems to have some resilience through Margot's attacks, and when he comforts her he seems like some kind of guardian angel. But his faint light is squelched by the chaos that's beyond his control.

And poor Claude, while sympathetic, is just a variation on the pubescent victims in The Squid and the Whale. (What's with Baumbach's preoccupation with alienated teenage boys who leave pieces of themselves behind? In Squid, one boy smeared bodily fluids on the school lockers, and Margot's Claude leaves pieces of his skin in other peoples' rooms.)

Only Malcolm seems to have any sense of the depravity on display, and we find some comfort in his presence until Baumbach—as ruthless in his search for ugly secrets as Margot herself—targets him and leaves him weeping over his own failures. There's more hope for humanity at the end of the Coen Brothers' No Country for Old Men than there is here.

Sure, we can muster compassion for these characters. After all, Baumbach draws them with intricate detail, so we can see potential in almost all of them, and pity them for the damage they probably suffered in childhood.

Director Noah Baumbach has a mess of a movie on his hands

We can also marvel at Baumbach's talent. His aesthetic is clearly influenced by the French New Wave films, especially the movies of Eric Rohmer. His sharp ear for dialogue—for the words people say, and the daggers they conceal within them—is a powerful gift. And his apprehension of the damage people do to each other, and how they do it, has served him well in the past, and may lead him to a masterpiece someday. Here, he's drawn out some of the finest acting we've ever seen from Kidman, Leigh, and Black. This extraordinary cast makes these characters convincingly caustic and complicated.

But alas, the accumulation of scenes in which characters degrade each other is ultimately exhausting. Why do we need to see Pauline have a rather messy accident in the middle of a walk in the woods? Is this some sort of helpful metaphor? Do we need any more reminders that these people are full of … well, do I really have to say it?

Many other directors have brought us into family clashes like this. Paul Thomas Anderson, Wes Anderson, and Woody Allen come to mind. But each of them have enough insight to glimpse the possibility of redemption. Or they find enough humor to relieve the tension and prevent us from wallowing in misery. Baumbach's focus on mean-spirited behavior is stifling.

At one point, Malcolm erupts in fury at the cruel and inhumane treatment that the people around him are demonstrating. When Pauline asks him to calm down, he declares. "This is the right reaction! Compared to everything else that's going on, this is right!"

In the same way, viewers will have a right to complain after Baumbach has shoved their faces into so much smelly behavior. In the end, Margot at the Wedding is a story told from a perspective that's as viciously condescending and critical as Margot's own worldview.

Talk About It

1. Do any of these family members show genuine love for the others? If you stepped into this mess, how might you try to "fix" it? How might Christian principles be a part of that?
2. What is Claude learning from the way these adults treat each other? Who provides the best role model for him?
3. Do you think Malcolm and Pauline should get married? What strengths do you see in their relationship? What weaknesses?
4. What can you discern about the history of Margot and Pauline's relationship? What were their parents like? What do we know about Becky?
5. At the end of the film, what has changed? Who has learned lessons, and what did they learn?

The Family Corner

Margot at the Wedding is rated R for sexual content and language. The family members speak profanely and violently toward each other. Sexual misbehavior is frankly discussed. And there is one shocking act of physical violence.

Photos © Copyright Paramount Vantage

© Jeffrey Overstreet subject to licensing agreement with Christianity Today International. All rights reserved. Click for reprint information.

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