While We're Young Analysis

While We're Young

Written & Directed by: Noah Baumbach

Available on Mubi

Starring: Ben Stiller, Naomi Watts, Adam Driver, Amanda Seyfried

This film follows the story of a couple in their 40s who struggle with finding that spark in their lives and how they don't want to be a 'boring old couple'. I think Noah Baumbach is the best in writing verbal battle, after Aaron Sorkin. There's a certain guilty pleasure that he taps in the audience while writing such scenes, it somehow feels good to see characters in their most vulnerable states. It makes us feel empathetic for the characters. The way Jamie keeps filming everything, that's a brilliant element that is added to create more conflict in scenes and it also speaks about Jamie.  Even in Marriage Story, that is what worked in favor of the film, the 11 minute fight scene between the characters which is the core of the film. I also liked the scene where he is seen as a purist by everyone, but we the audience get his point of view as to why he feels so sacrosanct about the craft.

The way exposition is done in this film is interesting, that scene where we get to know that Jamie is using his wife Darby's childhood story, Darby speaks about her childhood and then Josh asks her that even Jamie had the same childhood and then Darby makes a face and we get it. I think small elements like these, if done the right way where most of the audience get it and in a way that they can feel good about themselves can make even exposition interesting. There wasn't much for me to notice about the cinematography and lighting, it didn't obstruct the storytelling in anyway. The editing was brave at many instances, the scenes where a character says that there's no chance I'm doing that and it cuts to the character doing that, this has been done a lot of times and in this film it cuts even before you'd think they'd do this.

Adam Driver was brilliant in this film, I couldn't imagine he playing a character like this for the kind of poise he carries himself with and especially after watching him in Paterson it felt like he absorbs a lot in his performances but with this film he proved his diversity in his work. This film worked for me on some levels, but it didn't on most levels. The way this film deals with acceptance, in terms of accepting life the way it is, I thought that was a mature voice from the film maker to try to not be something you aren't and the way the film asks you to stop lying to yourself. But apart from these, there weren't much that made me think or even which kept me entirely hooked with the film.