The Meyerowitz Stories — London Film Festival Review
Esteemed indieman Noah Baumbach’s latest (and first for Netflix) is almost like his own riff on frequent collaborator Wes Anderson’s The Royal Tenenbaums, focusing primarily on the relationship between a father and his children, as well as having Ben Stiller as the most successful of the latter. It’s firmly in the Baumbach style — wry and melancholic, with some classic farcical elements — and proves to be one of his most successful pictures of the decade, largely due to a warm script and some pitch-perfect performances.
The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected) — to use the full title — stars Dustin Hoffman as family patriarch Harold, a mildly successful New York sculptor with strained relationships with his three children, borne from two of his four marriages. The older two, Danny (Adam Sandler) and Jean (Elizabeth Marvel), live nearby and keep in frequent contact, having to constantly listen to Harold rattle on about his pride and love for the younger, Matthew (Stiller), a successful wealth manager who has moved to the West Coast.
Every few years a movie comes along where Adam Sandler is forced to throw away the broad Happy Madison nonsense and actually act, and I’m happy to say this is one of the best performances of his entire career — Danny still fits in his quick-to-anger mildly infantile skillset, but Sandler portrays the more wounded nature of the character excellently. Hoffman, meanwhile, feels like he’s been a part of the Baumbach troupe for decades, and performs his characters’ aloof nature, frequent interruptions, and minuscule grievances with his usual expert technique. Stiller, having been through this sort of thing a couple times already, has undeniably not lost any of his skill in playing weariness and frustration, while Emma Thompson provides a beautifully understated performance as Harold’s current wife, the aloof and possibly-always-half-drunk Maureen.
While the overall path the story takes is well-worn, the script is full of genuinely moving moments, and the conflict between the characters — as well as the many decades of history leading to it — feels real and earned. However, the comedy is by far what sticks out — this movie is absolutely hilarious, with a multitude of laugh-out-loud lines (when Harold gets sick, a doctor reassures the family that he will be cared for full-time, only to immediately follow this up by announcing that she will be on holiday for the next three weeks) and great visual gags, most impressively in the ridiculous, overwrought, overly combative and sexual movies Danny’s daughter Eliza (Grace Van Patten — an unexpected highlight in her first major role!) is creating at college. And while Baumbach will likely never be a showy director, his skill with framing and subtle camera movements is still more than obvious.
Those who believe Baumbach’s movies to be somewhat elitist probably won’t be swayed by this one, especially with the frequent scenes showing characters in the NY art world. And while the male characters are well-drawn and receive plenty of attention, the female leads are unfortunately less-so — most obvious in the case of sister Jean, who’s main dramatic moment in the movie is mostly there to show Danny and Matthew’s reaction (although don’t get me wrong — this is easily a comedic highlight). But despite these flaws, The Meyerowitz Stories is another excellent addition to Baumbach’s filmography, and one I highly recommend checking out when it hits Netflix on October 13th.
