*MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS*
With films such as Frances Ha, Mistress America, While We’re Young and Marriage Story, Noah Baumbach has been praised for his skills as a writer and director and telling original stories through his unique vision. Because of this, many were surprised when Baumbach revealed that his next film would be an adaptation of Don DeLillo’s book, White Noise, which was published in 1985. Others were also sceptical as the book has been described as difficult to adapt into a film due to its complex narrative and exploration of themes such as death, academia, religion and consumer culture. However, Baumbach has said that he read White Noise when he was a teenager and re-read it recently as an adult and became interested in adapting it into a feature length film. Earlier this year, White Noise premiered at the Venice Film Festival received a mostly positive response from critics, who praised Baumbach’s adaptation of DeLillo’s novel. It’s scheduled to be released on the streaming service, Netflix, later this year, however, does it represent Baumbach at his best?
College professor Jack Gladney (Adam Driver) and his family's comfortable suburban life is upended when a nearby chemical leak causes "The Airborne Toxic Event," releasing a noxious black cloud over the region that forces the Gladney family to evacuate.
Although White Noise isn’t as impressive as Baumbach’s original works, it still features the trademarks of most of his films, including fast paced dialogue, wItty humour and interesting characters. Those who have read DeLillo’s book will, most likely, enjoy what Baumbach has created with his adaptation. Like with many book-to-film adaptations, many of the subplots that featured in the book haven’t made into the film as they would have been too distracting from the main narrative which mainly focuses on Jack and his anxious mental state following the airborne toxic event that sees him evacuating with his family to shelter. After being briefly exposed to the toxic air, Jack becomes even more paranoid about his death and he becomes increasingly suspicious of Babette’s strange behaviour. The premise sounds like it should be a a disaster film, however, with White Noise, Baumbach has created a surprisingly funny feature that rarely takes itself too seriously and, as a result, makes for an entertaining watch for the majority of its 136 minute runtime,
White Noise is set in the 1980s, however, its exploration of themes such as death, religion and consumer culture are still relevant today, almost forty years after the book was published. Throughout the film, Jack tries to hide his fear of death from his family, including his wife, Babette, who is equally as scared. They both know that death is inevitable, however, both try to avoid it all costs, however, that becomes difficult when they encounter the Airborne Toxic Event. Like the book, White Noise is told from Jack’s point of view and is the main character. While he isn’t he most likeable, as his fear of death and paranoia may come across as a little irritating, Jack is a fascinating figure who is a lot of fun to watch. Babette is his quirky wife who, in the book, is described as having “important hair” by one of the other characters, Murray Siskind (Don Cheadle), Jack’s colleague who wants to create a field of study centred on Elvis Presley. Jack and Babette’s children are scene stealers in their own right and each have their own distinct personalities. Jack’s oldest son, Heinrich (Sam Nivola), from one of his previous marriages, and is precociously intellectual and prone to be contrary. Jack’s daughter, Steffie (May Nivola), frequently questions her father about numerous things, including the Airborne Toxic Event. Babette’s daughter, Denise (Raffey Cassidy) has a very matter-of-fact personality and becomes suspicious of her mother’s behaviour. The characters are all fascinating and memorable individuals and a lot of fun to watch and add to the overall entertainment value of White Noise.
White Noise features a strong cast of talented actors who each leave a lasting impression. The stand out is, undoubtedly, Driver who, by gaining weight and changing his appearance, is almost unrecognisable as Jack. He succeeds in capturing Jack’s paranoia and fear of death and is one of his funniest performances. White Noise is the fifth collaboration between Driver and Baumbach, after the former appeared in Frances Ha, While We’re Young, The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected) and Marriage Story, which earned the actor an Oscar nomination for Best Leading Actor. It’s clear that the actor and director have a strong working relationship. After impressing with her skills behind the camera, with Lady Bird and Little Women, Gerwig returns to acting with her amusing performance as Babette. It’s not hard to understand why Baumbach chose Gerwig as they’re married in real life and have been together ever since the latter starred in Frances Ha and co-wrote the script with the former. Cheadle delivers a solid supporting performance as Murray who forms a friendship with Jack. One of the most memorable scenes in White Noise sees the two opposing professors simultaneously delivering a lecture on Hitler and Presley, with Jack stealing the spotlight from an unamused Murray. Jodie Turner-Smith is sadly underused as chemistry teacher, Winnie Richards.
White Noise is possibly Baumbach’s most polarising film as there will be those who may be puzzled by his adaptation of DeLillo’s book, however, others will enjoy what he’s created. Although I don’t think it’s his best film, I belong in the latter category and had a lot of fun watching White Noise.
7/10
White Noise is set in the 1980s, however, its exploration of themes such as death, religion and consumer culture are still relevant today, almost forty years after the book was published. Throughout the film, Jack tries to hide his fear of death from his family, including his wife, Babette, who is equally as scared. They both know that death is inevitable, however, both try to avoid it all costs, however, that becomes difficult when they encounter the Airborne Toxic Event. Like the book, White Noise is told from Jack’s point of view and is the main character. While he isn’t he most likeable, as his fear of death and paranoia may come across as a little irritating, Jack is a fascinating figure who is a lot of fun to watch. Babette is his quirky wife who, in the book, is described as having “important hair” by one of the other characters, Murray Siskind (Don Cheadle), Jack’s colleague who wants to create a field of study centred on Elvis Presley. Jack and Babette’s children are scene stealers in their own right and each have their own distinct personalities. Jack’s oldest son, Heinrich (Sam Nivola), from one of his previous marriages, and is precociously intellectual and prone to be contrary. Jack’s daughter, Steffie (May Nivola), frequently questions her father about numerous things, including the Airborne Toxic Event. Babette’s daughter, Denise (Raffey Cassidy) has a very matter-of-fact personality and becomes suspicious of her mother’s behaviour. The characters are all fascinating and memorable individuals and a lot of fun to watch and add to the overall entertainment value of White Noise.
White Noise features a strong cast of talented actors who each leave a lasting impression. The stand out is, undoubtedly, Driver who, by gaining weight and changing his appearance, is almost unrecognisable as Jack. He succeeds in capturing Jack’s paranoia and fear of death and is one of his funniest performances. White Noise is the fifth collaboration between Driver and Baumbach, after the former appeared in Frances Ha, While We’re Young, The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected) and Marriage Story, which earned the actor an Oscar nomination for Best Leading Actor. It’s clear that the actor and director have a strong working relationship. After impressing with her skills behind the camera, with Lady Bird and Little Women, Gerwig returns to acting with her amusing performance as Babette. It’s not hard to understand why Baumbach chose Gerwig as they’re married in real life and have been together ever since the latter starred in Frances Ha and co-wrote the script with the former. Cheadle delivers a solid supporting performance as Murray who forms a friendship with Jack. One of the most memorable scenes in White Noise sees the two opposing professors simultaneously delivering a lecture on Hitler and Presley, with Jack stealing the spotlight from an unamused Murray. Jodie Turner-Smith is sadly underused as chemistry teacher, Winnie Richards.
White Noise is possibly Baumbach’s most polarising film as there will be those who may be puzzled by his adaptation of DeLillo’s book, however, others will enjoy what he’s created. Although I don’t think it’s his best film, I belong in the latter category and had a lot of fun watching White Noise.
7/10
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