White Noise Review

Streaming movie review

I was unfamiliar with Noah Baumbach prior to the release of his movie “Marriage Story” a few years ago on Netflix. It was among my favorite movies of 2019, and Adam Driver is an actor whose work I deeply enjoy, so I was excited to see Baumbach’s newest film “White Noise,” starring Adam Driver and currently streaming on Netflix.

Jack (Adam Driver) is a professor at an unnamed school, where he specializes in teaching about Hitler. He and his wife Babette (Gretta Gerwig) have a blended family, spanning each of their previous three marriages. Jack gives lofty lectures with his colleague Murray (Don Cheadle), and then heads home, where he engages in philosophical discussions with his children, until one night when a theoretical discussion becomes more concrete following a train derailment and the appearance of an “airborne toxic event.” At that point, he must sift through conflicting information to try to figure out how to keep his family safe.

This movie was a bit of a mixed bag for me. There is a lot of cross talk in this movie. I can generally roll with that, but when there are two full-on lectures happening at the same time with cuts to what is clearly about to be a major action scene, it felt like too much. I recognize that the constant buzz of sound and difficulty to sort out what is the most important bit to listen to is the point, but it still doesn’t make it a fun movie watching experience.

The performances in this are interesting. The movie has a comedic sense about it, and the seriousness of all of the performances works well to underscore the comedy, but it’s a movie that requires everyone to perform. Nothing in it feels particularly natural, which again is very much the point, but the script didn’t feel like it was quite bizarre enough to make it work. Other films, like Boots Riley’s “Sorry to Bother You,” have done the same thing, but with more success. 

All that said, there were elements of this movie that really worked for me. I loved the way Driver’s character rationalizes every escalation that happens. Every time he’s confronted with another, more terrifying bit of information, he is able to explain why that’s actually better than before. The commentary is smart and witty and I will always give points to a film that is able to use the medium itself to help support the message, even if it can make the movie harder to watch.

My husband and I sleep with four different white noise machines running at night. It’s kind of ridiculous, I know, but in a small house with thin walls, it works well to block out anything that could disturb our rest. However, it often requires us to repeat things said to avoid misunderstanding one another. “White Noise” feels like the kind of film that requires a repeat viewing to fully understand everything that is being said, but maybe understanding is worth it.

This was originally published in The Dominion Post on January 7, 2023.