We discussed things

Il y a bien sûr tout ce qui a rapproché Nicole et Charlie dans Marriage Story, mais aussi maintenant ce qui les sépare. L'une de ces lignes de fracture rejoint l'opposition classique Los Angeles / New York (*).

Charlie à son fils, tandis qu'ils sont en voiture :

— If we were in New York we could be walking.

— But I like that we’re sitting right now. I like to sit.

— That’s true, Los Angeles does have sitting going for it.

Dans l'extrait suivant, le couple s'efforce de remettre leur rupture sur de bons rails : 

Nicole : Maybe we can figure something out between us...

Charlie : You’ll remember I said this to you at the beginning.

— I know you did, but these are different circumstances.

— I was anticipating these circumstances

— Mm hm. Anyway... Shall we try this?

— OK. I don't know how to start.

— Do you understand why I want to stay in LA?

— No.

— Well, Charlie, that's not a useful way for us to start...

— I don't understand it.

— You don't remember promising that we could do time out there?

— We discussed things. We were married, we said things. We talked about moving to Europe, about getting a sideboard or what do you call it, a credenza, to fill that empty space behind the couch. We never did any of it.

Noah Baumbach, Marriage Story (2019)

He loves all the things you’re supposed to hate

Devant séjourner à Lens, je me suis retrouvé dans un hôtel ayant souscrit un abonnement Netflix. Il me fallait absolument en profiter. Trois candidats dans ma watchlist : Okja (Bong Joon-ho), Better Call Saul (Saison 5), et Marriage Story (Noah Baumbach), que j'ai finalement retenu. En plus, ça allait très bien avec "Scènes de la vie conjugale", que j'avais récemment visionné.

Avant que les choses ne se compliquent, commençons par nous rappeler ce que Nicole aime (ou a aimé) chez son mari Charlie.

 

What I love about Charlie :

Charlie is undaunted. He never lets other people’s opinions, or any setbacks keep him from what he wants to do. Charlie eats like he’s trying to get it over with, and like there won’t be enough food for everyone. A sandwich is to be strangled while devoured. But he’s incredibly neat, and I rely on him to keep things in order. He’s energy-conscious. He doesn’t look in the mirror too often. He cries easily in movies. He’s very self-sufficient. He can darn a sock, and cook himself dinner, and iron a shirt. He rarely gets defeated, which I feel like I always do. Charlie takes all of my moods steadily. He doesn’t give in to them, or make me feel bad about them. He’s a great dresser. He never looks embarrassing, which is hard for a man. He’s very competitive. He loves being a dad. He loves all the things you’re supposed to hate, like the tantrums, the waking up at night. It’s almost annoying how much he likes it, but then it’s mostly nice.He disappears into his own world. He and Henry are alike in that way. He can tell people when they have food in their teeth, or on their face in a way that doesn’t make them feel bad. Charlie is self-made. His parents, I only met them once, but he told me there was a lot of alcohol, and some violence in his childhood. He moved to New York from Indiana with no safety net, and now he’s more New Yorker than any New Yorker. He’s brilliant at creating family out of whoever is around. With the theater company, he cast a spell that made everyone feel included. No one, not even an intern, was unimportant. He could remember all the inside jokes. He’s extremely organized and thorough. He’s very clear about what he wants, unlike me, who can’t always tell.

Noah Baumbach, Marriage Story (2019)

Back to bad again

Ghost World, Terry Zwigoff (2001)