Film Review: The Meyerowitz Stories
‘The Meyerowitz Stories’ (dir. Noah Baumbach) is an open, honest exploration of the Meyerowitz family and the issues caused by the father Harold, largely told through the perspectives of his three adult children. The excellent performances and superb script create a raw, emotional experience that everyone will be able to relate to on some level.
The cast of ‘The Meyerowitz Stories’ is excellent; Dustin Hoffman, Adam Sandler and Ben Stiller give excellent portrayals of Harold and his two sons. The tension felt between the three characters and the ways in which they interact carry all the weight of a real father-son relationship. Emma Thompson also gives a great comedic performance, whilst Elizabeth Marvel’s subtle portrayal of Harold’s only daughter was beautiful. The interactions between the main cast were charmingly authentic, with the mannerisms and speech patterns used brilliantly to highlight the similarities between the family members, despite their self-perceived differences.
The script was also excellent, with brilliant dialogue and an interesting structure, often jumping forward in time with little to no warning. This allowed for a larger story to be told, providing credible character development in the sub-2 hour run time. The structure was set up to serve the character development, rather than the other way around. This resulted in a beautiful piece with a strong emotional core.
The editing work done by Jennifer Lame was genius. There are certain editing cues that are repeated throughout that serve as both comedic and consistent character moments. The pacing ebbs and flows with the narrative, further accentuating the authenticity.
Overall, ‘The Meyerowitz Stories’ is a film about family and the members of that family. The characters are authentic and their relationships believable. All elements of the film come together to reinforce this, resulting in a very compelling, emotional journey that is captivating throughout. Anyone, despite their family history, will be able to relate to these characters and their struggles.
4 Stars.
