Film

People Are Turning This Very Serious ‘Marriage Story’ Scene Into A Very Funny Meme

Nothing screams my opinion was better like punching a hole into your apartment wall.

by Michelle Rennex  9 December 2019
Marriage Story Memes

Want more Junkee in your life? Sign up to our newsletter, and follow us on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook so you always know where to find us.

Netflix’s new film Marriage Story, starring Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson, is being praised by audiences online.

The plot follows director Charlie (Adam Driver) and his actress wife Nicole (Scarlett Johansson) as their marriage breaks down.  The pair must navigate the perils of messy divorce with their son Henry (Azhy Robertson) in mind, when Nicole decides to make the move from New York to Los Angeles.

Marriage Story, directed by Noah Baumbach of The Squid and the Whale, is being celebrated by audiences and critics alike. Empire calls Marriage Story, “a tender, taut gem of a film that will make you reconsider love and loss” while The Guardian claims the film is “adroitly balanced and emotionally calibrated.”

Audiences, on the other hand, highlighted the power of the emotionally-charged film, and took the time to praise Driver and Johansson for their acting throughout.

However it was one scene in particular that stood out amongst the rest — the scene of Charlie and Nicole in Charlie’s near-empty apartment as they discussed cheating and love.

During the heated discussion over what constitutes cheating, the camera darts back and forth between the pair as they shout. The argument peaks when Charlie punches a hole into the apartment wall.

The strong, serious and beautiful scene stuck with viewers. In particular, Charlie’s line about laughter and sex hit home for a lot of people who took to Twitter to share their thoughts.

But the seriousness of the scene and the animation of the actors also made the apartment meltdown scene ripe with meme potential. People started to place disagreeing opinions over the images of Charlie and Nicole as they fought — similar in style to the American Chopper Argument meme.

People even used the meme to start questioning the treatment of the characters in relation to Noah Baumbach’s own lived experience. This is because Marriage Story parallels some elements of Baumbach’s divorce to Jennifer Jason Leigh, who had a similar career start to Nicole and also moved to Los Angeles after the birth of their son.

Beyond the current nameless ‘Marriage Story Meme’, other moments of the movie have been poked fun at online too.

But as with most films, it’s probably going to take a couple of weeks for people to catch on and meme Marriage Story to it’s full potential.