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| "Look how awkward and dumb we look." |
Midlife
crises within a middle aged couple (Ben Stiller and Naomi Watts), form the epicenter of Noah Baumbach’s observant and occasionally
scathing dramedy While We’re Young. Written, produced and directed by Baumbach, While We’re Young marks the frequent Wes
Anderson collaborator’s latest dabbling in the mumblecore subgenre with far
more accomplished eyes and ears than his contemporaries.
Beginning with debatably the director’s
greatest film, Greenberg, Baumbach
formed a unique director-actor partnership with Ben Stiller who gives a career
defining performance of an unbending character who would be otherwise insufferable
were he not played by Stiller. A bit
cozier and friendlier than the far more difficult Greenberg, While We’re Young joins
the latter film’s focus on adults in dire need of emotional growth and mutual
inability to recognize their self-repression.
As
previously mentioned, Stiller and Baumbach make a great team and bring out the
best in one another. While neither quite
hit it out of the park in this case, Stiller is splendid as the New York based
documentary filmmaker turned film professor who develops an affinity for one of
his pupils. A testament to what a
professional Stiller is at directing and screenwriting in addition to being a
mainstream actor, his work with Baumbach seems to be his most genuine. A good spot for an actor and comedian of his
stature to be to be able to fluctuate between art house projects such as
Baumbach’s and the latest Night at the
Museum flick.
Naomi Watts is always
great even when the film isn’t and with Baumbach as a woman dogged by pressures
of her peers aging into parenthood, she’s fantastic and a perfect counterpoint
to Stiller. Adam Driver, better known
for Girls and the forthcoming Star Wars: The Force Awakens, makes a
great hipster documentarian who proves to be quite the go getter. In a surprise bit of veteran casting is
Charles Grodin as Stiller’s documentarian father-in-law Leslie, an actor
reaching his Peter Boyle phase who deserves far more work than he’s had in
recent years.
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| "No!! I will not hold hands with you!" |
As
with Baumbach’s other features, While
We’re Young is primarily driven by dialogue beset with an eclectic pop
soundtrack alongside an original synth score by LCD Soundsystem frontman James Murphy. With a soft visual palette and relaxed
pacing, Baumbach’s films have the appearance of light romantic comedy but the
soul of frustration and heartache. A key
opening scene says best what the journey with what his characters will be like,
as Stiller and Watts regard an infant with smiles. The baby seems calm at first but when it
starts to fuss, the couple shuts down not knowing how to deal with it. We can all relate to that moment where we’ve
become deer in headlights, but for Baumbach’s characters, it takes them far
longer to face their fears.
Closer to
Woody Allen than Wes Anderson, Noah Baumbach isn’t for all, as his
protagonists’ problems can be so discomforting they would make Paul Thomas
Anderson blush. By the same token
though, it’s that very distancing technique with regard to his emotionally
immature characters that adds to the director’s appeal. While
We’re Young is admittedly more commercial and therefore nowhere near the
artistic heights reached by Greenberg but
pretty close with its own unique blend of surprises and rewards.
-Andrew Kotwicki