Marriage Story has an unusual beginning if one is to consider the function this scene has to play in the expository chapter of the film. You could call the opening scenes of the film What do I like about Nicole / Charlie?, the two main characters of this matrimonial narrative – Charlie (splendidly acted by Adam Driver) and Nicole (in a performance by Scarlett Johansson). This beginning is, strictly in terms of narrative devices, a sort of Swiss Army Knife, because it fulfills multiple functions at the same time. It’s the exposition of the film’s narrative, the episode which offers the opportunity to learn more about the characters, about the world in which they live in and, especially, about the „world” and intimacy of Charlie and Nicole. By counting down the things that the two love about each other and by editing together little sequences in which all of those things are illustrated, the audience gains access to the private language which any long-term couple creates for itself and which becomes the trademark of their universe. As remains to be seen throughout the narrative’s runtime is that this opening sequence works at various levels of the film’s narrative construction, being one of the technical components of a narrative counterpoint, which offers a contrast to present-time moments, in which the relationship between the two has deteriorated. Additionally, without giving away any useless spoilers, links to this scene are reestablished towards the ending of the movie, thus having the ability to show that, beyond all the trials and tribulations of their break-up, the two of them truly loved each other and they continue to have feelings (albeit, residual ones) which derive from their love story.

Cezar Gheorghe

+ posts

This author does not have any more posts.