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Margot at the Wedding: Just Plain Bleak

BuzzSugar — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 13:45:35 PST

At the end of writer/director Noah Baumbach's 2005 film The Squid and the Whale, I felt exhausted - but not in a bad way. That slice-of-life film focusing on a Brooklyn family in the midst of the parents' separation is at times depressing and hard to watch. At the end, however, there's a moment that feels redemptive and almost hopeful. Margot at the Wedding marks Baumbach's follow-up to Squid in the Whale and has extremely similar themes and characters with one key difference: there is no real redemption to this movie.

Nicole Kidman plays Margot, a Manhattan author and mother to a teenage boy named Claude (Zane Pais). Margot and Claude travel together to Margot's childhood home where her sister Pauline (Jennifer Jason Leigh) now lives and where she's about to marry the schlubby Malcolm (Jack Black). Once they're together again, the movie mostly centers on Margot and Pauline's relationship, Margot and Claude's relationship and Margot's strained relationship with her husband - and her relationship to men in general. That's basically it for plot, but there is still more to talk about so

read more Baumbach explores similar territory here as he does in Squid and the Whale, only this movie is way harder to enjoy. There's the selfish, hypocritical mother (Margot) who has a seemingly close relationship with her teenage son, though she often randomly slings insults his way. She and her sister examine their childhoods, their daddy issues, their sexual pasts, none of which is all that interesting for anyone else (audience included) to hear. The boy, attempting to navigate young adulthood and trying to grasp the rockiness of his parents' marriage, is an innocent. There are a few references to his sexual exploration, but nothing nearly so squirmy as what goes on in Baumbach's Squid. Baumbach is clearly preoccupied with a few key topics in general: family dynamics at a turbulent juncture in the parents' marriage, and mother-son relationships (particularly when the mother is self-obsessed and rather heartless). In both films Baumbach also ridicules overeducated and snobbish - though not necessarily elite - members of New York society. These characters (both parents in Squid, Margot in Margot) are shown to be know-it-alls, deeply hypocritical and cold. I patiently waited through the hour and a half with these characters, most of whom are either clueless (Malcolm), helpless (Pauline, Claude) or downright hateful (Margot), expecting some sort of golden ray of hope at the end. Just a glimmer would have done it, a speck of glitter stuck haphazardly to this story that is dreary despite there being no actual crisis. It really is simply an example of how bleak and pointless life is - even when nothing is really wrong. Photos courtesy of Paramount Vantage

Nicole, Adrian and Helena at the Premiere

Molly — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 23:41:34 PST

Fresh off her hot night at the CMAs Nicole Kidman looked kinda freezing (not to be confused with frigid) at the NYC premiere of Margot at the Wedding last night. No wonder why she didn't take off her coat. Jamie-Lynn Sigler and Adrian Grenier were similarly bundled up, but not Helena Christensen. Because supermodels do not feel cold, obviously. Also, rewinding for a second, Adrian looks a little, shall we say, squinty eyed in his white pants. Methinks he was really enjoying himself at the premiere. Good times.

To see more of the premiere including Howard Stern, Katie Lee Joel, Noah Baumbach and others just read more

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Images include Adrian Grenier, Beth Ostrosky, Daphne Zuniga, Helena Christensen, Howard Stern, Jamie-Lynn Sigler, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Katie Lee Joel, Nicole Kidman, Noah Baumbach Source, Source

Keith Recovers Quickly To Stand By Nicole's Side

PopSugar — Mon, 08 Oct 2007 14:57:24 PDT

Nicole hit the red carpet solo for the premiere of Margot at the Wedding, but Keith was back by her side to walk her around NYC this weekend. He looks all cleaned up since his motorcycle accident (certainly in better shape than post-crash Clooney), but maybe that's because the incident wasn't as bad as it seemed. Nicole claims the whole thing was blown out of proportion, saying, “He didn’t really have an accident at all. That was a bit of an exaggeration. It was a little mishap. He’s safe and sound.” Whatever the case may be, we're just happy to see that Keith didn't suffer any serious injuries.

Lots more pics including Jennifer Jason Leigh and Alan Cumming so just read more

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Images include Nicole Kidman, Keith Urban, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Noah Baumbach, Halley Feiffer, Alan Cumming, Zane Pais and Flora Cross. Source

Nicole Kidman Owns The Red Carpet

Molly — Sun, 07 Oct 2007 09:03:37 PDT

Nicole Kidman premiered her new movie, Margot at the Wedding, at the New York film festival last night looking glamorous and regal in black and white. Fresh off his motorcycle accident, her husband Keith wasn't by her side, but Nicole has more than enough presence to work the red carpet all by herself. Nicole looks stunning in black, but there is something ethereal (and a little bit mannequin-y?) about the white - which do you like better?

To see more of Nicole in Black and White just read more

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Pacific Coast News, Source

First Look: Nicole Kidman in Margot at the Wedding

BuzzSugar — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 09:30:00 PDT

Noah Baumbach is the young director whose indie film The Squid and the Whale (starring Jeff Daniels and Laura Linney) was weirdly fascinating. Embracing the look and feel of Brooklyn in the 1980s, it was a difficult family drama that often made me laugh or feel uncomfortable (or, at times, accomplished both those things at the same time). Baumbach's latest venture, Margot at the Wedding, appears to have precisely the same style and feeling as Squid, and again deals with strained familial relationships.

Nicole Kidman plays Margot whose sister Pauline (Jennifer Jason Leigh) is marrying the slightly schlubby Malcolm (Jack Black, curiously trying his hand at a dramatic role). Margot, clearly not enjoying a smooth relationship with her sister, has some reservations about this union.

Margot at the Wedding opens October 19. To see the trailer (in which Kidman is back to her beautiful redheaded self),

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Melancholia Trailer: Kirsten Dunst and Alexander Skarsgard Marry, Worry About the Earth's Destruction

Shannon Vestal — Sun, 10 Apr 2011 06:30:00 PDT

Director Lars von Trier is known for his unusual and visceral aesthetic, like in 2009's Antichrist, and his upcoming film, Melancholia, looks to offer more of the same. Kirsten Dunst stars as Justine, a woman who's already questioning her happiness on her wedding day to her handsome new husband (Alexander Skarsgard). She's also clashing with her sister Claire, played by Charlotte Gainsbourg, while Kiefer Sutherland makes a rare film appearance as Claire's prickly husband. The relationships would be enough for a rich psychological drama, but there's actually an, um, disaster angle.

Another planet has just emerged from behind the Sun and is on an apparent collision course with Earth, making the principal characters understandably anxious. It's a strange combination of genres (think Margot at the Wedding meets Armageddon), but there's no denying that the bit we get to see in the preview is stunningly photographed. And for all you True Blood fans, take note: it's Eric in a tux! Watch the preview when you