FILM: LOVE, MARRIAGE AND MODERN DIVERSITY

Harlem Bespoke:  Love is complicated but sometimes still black and white when Hollywood tackles the subject in a slew of new streaming arrivals that just landed to flatscreen televisions everywhere.   We actually were invited to an early Netflix theater screening of Marriage Story and binged watched Modern Love on Amazon within 48 hours soon after since the two premiers happened the same time. A key focus to it all is love but also New York City is a center star especially in the later.  The director of Marriage Story grew up in Brooklyn and Modern Love is an anthology series all based in the great city.


A Marriage Story stars Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver for an obvious aim at a few Oscar nominations since Netflix is required to have a theater run before streaming on the small screen in order to be considered.  Noah Baumbach has done a lot of screenwriting alongside film directing since the 90s and the latest run feels more like watching a play in the theater.  There are a lot of closeup monologues and not too much else as far as local color goes in the story about the end of marriage revealing the permanence of love.  Brooklyn compared to Los Angeles are the settings but somehow the energy along with the diversity of New York City gets lost especially from someone who is originally from the city.  Barebones background sets works on the stage but cinema needs a little more to capture a sense of place and time.  With that said, the performances and movie were solid enough to see once but it is Adam Driver who will have the moment here in a crescendo of raw emotion seldom captured on film.

Modern Love has a big poster on 145th Street and everything actually looks like New York City at first glance.  Black, brown white and even a variety of older people are all in the mix which actually makes for more interesting story telling and feels true to this city dweller's experience.  This actually makes sense since the stories are inspired by the New York Times' column of the same moniker.  The anthology series captures some of the earlier energy of Sex in the City when viewers actually recognized the locations and experienced some of the moments being represented on the screen.

A dashing Dev Petel along with Catherine Keener share their stories about lost love in the excellent Episode 2 which could have easily been a modern rom-com for the big screen and is one of the standouts.  We especially admired the performance of the more seasoned actor who actually brings wisdom and everyday casual, cool New York ease to the performance.  This is a city that is recognizable and the people populating the screen are not in just some self conscious Hollywood production.

Jane Alexander's performance in the Episode 8 finale shows the vulnerability and strength that only a more mature actor can provide and is a refreshing glimpse of love for an older generation that is seldom included in the narrative.  There is also an ending that is one of the more satisfying ones to watch in recent memories and makes the series an instant classic.  Another honorable mention goes to Sofia Boutella who is mesmerizing as a stunning love interest in episode 5 and reminds us of so many hip girls from the many different backgrounds found in the city.

Modern Love wins over Netflix with this roundup but we would eventually love more casting with people of color as the main characters and not the supporting act in the mix. Deve Petel comes closest to a leading man in the series but every other story appears to narrate that diversity always has to involve a white love interests.  More black female leads, Latinx, or Asian storylines would be the challenge for future productions of the breakthrough series but this first round is definitely easy to see on repeat on a cozy fall evening.

HarlemBespoke.com 2019