Jack Gladney, professor of Hitler studies at The-College-on-the-Hill, husband to Babette, and father to four children/stepchildren, is torn asunder by a chemical spill from a rail car that releases an "Airborne Toxic Event" forcing Jack to confront his biggest fear - his own mortality.
"Jack" (Adam Driver) is a college lecturer married to "Babbette" (Greta Gerwig). It's fourth time round for both of them so their family consists a mix of siblings, half-siblings and pets that could easily give the Tower of Babel a run for it's money. Add to that mix that he teaches about Adolf Hitler (but cannot speak German) and she has developed a secret dependency on a mysterious drug ("Dylar") and the scene is set for a dysfunctional family drama that I'm afraid to say left me yawning. The structure of the drama is pretty episodic in nature and the escapades themselves frequently border on the nonsensical (and implausible) as they have to comprehend and flee from the effects of an "airborne toxic event". Some of that is funny, some of that is not - and I'm not sure the entire concept can really sustain the 2¼ hours Noah Baumbach provides for us here. At times it comes across as ridiculously contrived, the humour and scenarios straining at the bit to be imaginative or inventive, but ending up, intellectually, face down in a ditch. Too many directors nowadays appear to me to challenge the audience to comprehend an increasing degree of nonsense or surreality almost daring us to ask "What's this all about?". Revealing ourselves idiots when we haven't really any clue? There are certainly constituent elements of this that raise a smile, and Driver continues to grow in confidence with each of the quirkier roles (remember "Annette" from 2021) he undertakes, but this is just a rambling mess of a story that offers us a surfeit of irritating dialogue underpinned by a story that plays to paranoia and stereotype in equal measure without really offering us much of a stab at redemption or comprehension. It may improve with a second viewing, but oddly enough I found it entirely well titled.
White Noise was not what I expected going into it. It had great performances and interesting premise but slowly went off the rails for me. I was enjoying the first half the film; the unique dialogue structure was fresh and the suspense of the chemical event was intriguing. It had great social commentary and was funny to watch post pandemic. But after the second act the story spirals absurdity and it really hurts my overall enjoyment of the film. I have a lot more I have to say, but spoilers would be required. There was definitely something here, but unfortunately it never quite reaches the mark.
Score: 62%
Verdict: Decent
