Margot at the Wedding

As expected, Margot at the Wedding, written and directed by The Squid and the Whale filmmaker Noah Baumbach, is rife with dysfunctional characters that seem to spend all their free time arguing with one another; problems ensue as it becomes increasingly clear that virtually none of these people have been infused with traits of authenticity (ie they’re all just ridiculously dysfunctional). Infused with a drab and downright unpleasant visual style, the movie follows a series of characters, including Nicole Kidman’s Margot, Jennifer Jason Leigh’s Pauline, and Jack Black’s Malcolm, as they converge on a ramshackle country estate for a wedding. Despite the best efforts of an exceedingly capable cast, Margot at the Wedding remains an objectionable experience for much of its running time – with Black’s expectedly dynamic turn as Malcolm the only respite from the relentlessly downbeat shenanigans. The inclusion of a subplot revolving around a hillbilly family that lives next door is nothing short of absurd, and the movie also has the distinction of ending on as meaningless and random a note as one could possibly imagine. Baumbach’s efforts to set himself apart from his contemporaries are clearly backfiring, as the filmmaker’s newly-adopted aesthetic generally comes off as unappealing and flat-out annoying.

*1/2 out of ****