He thinks she is perfect. She thinks he is impeccable. They seem to understand each other’s rhythms and complement one another in the creative space—he, a theatre director, and she, his leading lady. Their young son means the world to them. When Noah Baumbach presents Nicole (Scarlett Johansson) and Charlie (Adam Driver) first in Marriage Story (streaming on Netflix), they seem to have the perfect marriage, until you become aware of the cracks—like the presence of the marriage mediator.
Years into their marriage, Nicole realises that her individuality and ambitions have been lost even as Charlie continues to pursue his. When a television pilot comes her way, she is keen to grab it. They agree to part amicably, but things turn unpleasant when one of them decides to get a lawyer. What follows is a brilliantly narrated tale of disaffection, accumulated bitterness and eventual forgiveness.
Much of Marriage Story resonates with its leading star, Driver. His overly religious parents separated when he was seven. Of course, Charlie fights for his son’s custody, unlike Driver’s father. And just like Charlie, whose art consumes him, Driver, too, is almost maniacally obsessive about his art—cinema and Broadway.
Driver, 37, always had a penchant for defying traditions. Early and excessive exposure to religion instilled in him a sense of rebellion. He never considered college his thing. But there were always movies. He rented and watched films by great directors, made camcorder movies and did some theatre in school. Inspired by tales of people moving to Los Angeles and making it big in movies, he made an unsuccessful bid to do so, only to return home when his car broke down.
The next stop was the Marine Corps. Driver, in a TED Talk, said he was full of patriotism and wanted retribution after 9/11. He was 17 then, doing odd jobs—like selling vacuums, telemarketing and mowing lawns—after his failed attempt to pursue acting. Joining the Marine Corps gave him a sense of direction. However, it did not last long. A mountain biking accident led to an honourable discharge months before he was to be deployed in Iraq. The transition to civilian life again led to an absence of purpose. But films were always at the back of his mind, so he joined an acting school.
Adam Driver
After a few Broadway appearances and minor roles, his performance in the comedy-drama Girls gave him a break. Then came Lincoln, and others. While his buff physique is indeed star material, his less than perfect facial features —”yes, I have an unusual face,” he had admitted—stand out against the chiselled jawlines of Hollywood heroes. Driver’s strength is his immense acting potential. Of course, the gentle, reflective eyes did add to the magic, and he went on to star in films of greats like Martin Scorsese, the Coen brothers and Spike Lee.
Driver is often compared with leading men of the 1970s for his versatility. But he is also an actor fit for every era. He could effortlessly slip into the suave shoes of a modern-day Sherlock like Benedict Cumberbatch or don the disheveled coat of Al Pacino’s Arthur Kirkland from ...And Justice for All. Steven Soderbergh, who directed him in Logan Lucky, said, “He just seemed to be from another universe”, while Scorsese called him “one of the finest, if not the finest, of his generation”.
The Marine Corps years may have helped him cultivate the discipline that his characters often demand. Driver finds that the acting community and the military are not exactly different, as both are trying to do something larger than themselves. He once said that the process in both are exactly the same. “You have a role, and you have to know your role... you are only as good as the people there with you,” he said. The military discipline probably helps while preparing for a role. He seems to observe his characters from the outside and gets comfortable with who they are before getting into their shoes. Driver studied Morse code for Lincoln, learned to drive a bus for Paterson, mastered making a Martini with one hand for Logan Lucky, and “devoured” a 500-page document for The Report.
While there is a bit of Driver in each of his roles, the characters that he chooses often have nothing in common. Take, for instance, the three characters he did this year. While Daniel J. Jones of The Report is indeed obsessive like Charlie of Marriage Story, Jones is a person whose beliefs are challenged when he is betrayed by an institution he trusted. Charlie, meanwhile, is an egotist who is both obsessed and bitter. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker is an altogether different ballgame. And there was also Burn This, the Broadway play that got him a Tony nomination. It is this inimitable versatility that sets him in a league apart from the Ryans and Chrises of Hollywood.
Once a Marine, always a Marine. While his acting career keeps him busy enough, he found a way to merge his military past with his stardom. Driver launched ‘Arts in the Armed Forces’, a platform to bring quality art to the armed forces for free. The aim was to “bring entertainment to a group of people that, considering their occupation, could handle something more thought provoking”, he had explained. Seven years after his big break in Girls and more than 25 films later, Driver is a Hollywood heartthrob, receiving the adulation granted only to the finest of talents.