Margot at the Wedding DVD Review
Biting Comedy Staring Nicole Kidman & Jennifer Jason Leigh Out Now
Margot at the Wedding, director Noah Baumbach's film about the trials of sisterhood, staring Nicole Kidman, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Jack Black available now on DVD.
In his latest film, Academy Award nominated writer / director Noah Baumbach (The Squid and the Whale) dissects the human family drama. Margot at the Wedding delves into the bitter relationship between two estranged sisters Margot (Nicole Kidman) and Pauline (Jennifer Jason Leigh) days prior to Pauline’s wedding to Malcolm (Jack Black).
Despite her success as a short story writer with a certain celebrity, Margot, bitter, insecure and selfish, with a razor tongue and superior attitude, causes havoc everywhere she turns. Her marriage hangs by a thread and her affair works more out of convenience than pleasure.
When free-spirited Pauline decides to tie the knot with unemployed letter writer / painter/ musician Malcolm, Margot quickly swoops into town with her son to convince her sister not to make the biggest mistake of her life.
Upon arrival at the former family home, now owned solely by Pauline, the two sisters quickly fall into a familiar destructive pattern of bickering. They squabble over everything from who got the worst treatment from their abusive father, to who was the biggest slut in high school with often comedic, often harsh effect.
Cruel Yet Funny Family Drama
Both Kidman and Leigh play their parts to perfection. Pauline begins as a confident woman in control of her life but after only a few hours surrounded by older sister Margot, the shift from confident to self doubting becomes troublingly apparent.
In an unconventional role, Black plays it straight for the most part but steals the show more than once in his portrayal of a man who competes with everyone but fails to win any battles.
Together Pauline and Malcolm must deal with less-than-ideal neighbours, a flirty babysitter and a child with adult ADD before Margot storms into town to change the course of fate.
Intelligent Comedy with a Hint of Noir
Beautifully written, the dialogue becomes another character that makes you squirm at times and laugh uncontrollably at others. Troubling and disruptive, Margot at the Wedding is raw, in your face, family drama with the kind of noir comedy only siblings experience.
In one particular scene, Pauline and Margot share a cup of coffee and trade family stories circling around mom and other sister Becky. Trying to outdo each other yet again, both Margot and Pauline enumerate a list of hardships that have befallen them before Margot adds “Becky had it the worst, she was raped by the stable hand”, to which both sisters fall over themselves in hysterical laughter.
Drama and Comedy
Though touted as a comedy, the drama in Margot at the Wedding at times makes you laugh, other times cringe and feel like reaching in and shaking some sense into the sisters.
If you enjoy movies that neatly tie everything together at the end, skip this film. Margot at the Wedding is a slice of life. Nothing’s resolved, nothing recovered – it’s simply two days in the life of Pauline and Margot, but two days you’ll be happy you shared with them.
Margot at the Wedding (2007/ 92 minutes) is now available on DVD from Paramount Vantage Pictures.
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