Sometimes the anticipation can cause you to have an unfair level of expectation for a movie, but when it comes to Noah Baumbach White noise, you can’t know what you’re getting into if you don’t know the source material. A truly crazy and bizarre experience, the movie might not always work, but it’s something you have to see to believe nonetheless.
The film follows a typical American family hoping to deal with the mundane things in life when their world unexpectedly becomes uncertain. Based on Don DeLillo’s iconic novel, it’s easily one of the most bizarre movies you’ll see this year (for better or worse) and it’s a wild swing for Baumbach.
Of course, Baumbach is known for his dry, deadpan sense of humor, and it’s his trademark that we see most in the film. His quirky humor fits well with the weird and surreal nature of Don DeLillo’s writing, but you have to admit, it starts to feel weird to be weird at times.
There are certainly some interesting themes in the film, some of which are taken from DeLillo’s text, and others were likely added through Baumbach’s adaptation and interpretation. For example, there are clearly some elements that seem related to the modern phenomena of COVID, fake news, and Donald Trump, which DeLillo obviously couldn’t have written about in 1985. It’s certainly overloaded, but it’s hard to not admire it. for his ambition.
The area in which White noise will begin to lose audiences is his character development. Obviously, the characters aren’t meant to be entirely likable or approachable – the protagonist’s occupation guarantees that – but in creating its quirky portrayal of the suburbs, the film delivers a typical American family that also feels quite atypical. In other words, they’re too weird to be relatable, but too average to be exceptional.
Also Read: Adam Driver Rumored to Play Reed Richards in Fantastic Four as Fans Claim He’s Perfect for Doctor Doom
Adam Driver is an absolutely perfect cast in this role, because he’s weird enough to make it work, but not so weird that he isn’t charming. His exchanges with Don Cheadle are excellent, the best scene of the film being a back and forth between the two of them. On the other hand, Greta Gerwig is just a bit there in her role – there’s nothing wrong with her performance, but she doesn’t stand out either.
White noise is certainly done on a much larger scale than anything Baumbach has done before, and perhaps will again. While it tends to make for fairly grounded drama, it’s nonsensical and over the top satire. Its sense of visual style, paired with an odd but fitting score by Danny Elfman, is quite impressive.
White noise is a weird and off-putting movie While there are some very funny moments throughout and it deserves praise for its very ambitious approach, it’s a bit too chaotic for its own good – although it’s definitely the type of film that would be served by repeat viewings.
5/10.
White noise screened as part of the GEMS program at the 2022 Miami Film Festival, which runs November 3-10.
Also Read: Adam Driver: Ranking His Best TV and Movie Roles
Follow us for more entertainment coverage on Facebook, TwitterInstagram and YouTube.
