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Clarence Tsui

Margot at the Wedding
Starring:  Nicole Kidman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Jack Black
Director:  Noah Baumbach
The film:  What does Noah Baumbach  have to do to get  a just reward for his consistently remarkable films?
His last,  The Squid and the Whale, remains one of the most  overlooked gems  of recent years, and Margot at the Wedding seems destined for an even crueller fate, receiving no acknowledgement whatsoever from major awards ceremonies this year.  It's a shame, given  that it boasts  excellently nuanced performances from its cast and a sharp screenplay that oozes as much wit and humanity as Diablo Cody's  Juno, if not more.
One wonders why Margot  has failed to achieve hit status  when  it's clear from  the success of fare such as Little Miss Sunshine and Juno  that films with dysfunctional human relationships at  their core are more popular than ever.
And things can't get more dysfunctional than the bond that is central to Baumbach's film: namely, the sparring kinship between the acerbic Margot (Nicole Kidman) and her sister Pauline (Jennifer Jason Leigh).
Estranged for years over a dispute  that saw Margot break up  her sister's marriage, the pair reunite when Margot, with  son Claude in tow, visits Pauline to attend her  wedding  to Malcolm (Jack Black, above),  a shambolic musician who is  infantile and self-obsessed.
What makes Margot such riveting viewing is the way Baumbach avoids painting in all the details in the narrative: in the most naturalistic  way possible - that is, no flashbacks, no explicit dialogue about the past, and no music-drenched melodramatic set pieces - the director   gives the characters the space  slowly to reveal their damaged personalities. Moments of harmony  are suddenly  upset by  sudden spasms of  nastiness, as tensions  between the sisters and their  children  surface in such circumstances as  Claude being scolded by Margot for 'taking too much pleasure' in  her being stuck up  a tree, and  when he fluffs a swing during a croquet game.
Baumbach has his stars to thank: Kidman's  Margot  is a neurotic,  selfish individual who  oscillates between tenderness and bitterness beyond her conscious control,  and Leigh gives her best to play the helplessly hurt Pauline.
The dynamic between the two actresses is near perfect, too, as they play out the siblings' love-hate relationship bogged down by history and jealousy.
The extras: Bonus features are pretty thin on the ground, comprising only a conversation between Baumbach and Leigh about the film's genesis and production. Given the fact  they are husband and wife in real life, it's hardly something that would demand much effort in production.
The verdict: With deft performances and vivid storytelling, Margot at the Wedding is another amusing outing from one of the most quirky filmmakers to emerge in recent years.



Margot at the Wedding