White Noise - Movie Review

Critics Score - 8 of 10

General Audience Score - 7 of 10

Every so often a film comes along that leaves you dumbfounded, not because of it’s subject matter or controversy surrounding it, but simply because of how bat-shit crazy it is. Everything, Everywhere All At Once from earlier this year was a film like that, highly original and inventive in most of it’s filmmaking aspects. But coming up on the Christmas season, Netflix will get another film that’s wildly original called White Noise, the latest film from Noah Baumback, the director of Marriage Story and Frances Ha. To say this film is creative is a huge understatement. White Noise is a dark comedy at it’s roots, although humor being subjective, this brand of laughs will not be for everyone. I found myself as perplexed as I was amused by what Baumback had put on the screen. While the film ultimately did work for me, as I found myself chuckling throughout, but most of the time that I wasn’t actually laughing, I was smiling and shaking my head at the pure nonsense of what I was watching. This film will turn off some viewers, and they’ll know right away too, probably within the first ten minutes or so, if they’re going to hate this movie. But if you’re able to tune into the channel this film is broadcasting on, there’s a lot of fun to have staring slack-jawed at all the White Noise.

SYNOPSIS - This voyage into the cinematic unknown starts with Murray (Don Chedale), a college professor, as he’s giving a lecture at a university of some sort about car crashes as they are depicted on film. Straight out of the gate we begin to get a sense of what this film is about, as some of the things said are just utter nonsense. “Watch any car crash in any american movie. It is a high-spirited moment, like duck flying, walking on wings.” To repeat the immoral words of one of Ricky Bobby’s kids from Talladega Nights, “I don’t even know what that means, but I love it.” We then transition to meet the family that is the subject of our film, the father Jack (Adam Driver), is a flamboyant fellow college professor to Murray who specializes in Hitler studies, while his wife Babbette (Greta Gerwig), is a big haired housewife that along with their four children, make up the Gladney clan. The film takes place in what we assume to be the late 80’s/early 90’s, so expect plenty of old timey products, from the old Pepsi and Tab bottles and cans, to Tide detergent, Charleston Chews and Chunky bars and a myriad of other products, especially on display during the supermarket sequences. Stay for the entirety of the credits and you’re in for a particularly trippy treat in this department. But as this family goes on it’s zany adventures and endures the ludicrous shenanigans they get into, the comedy the film revolves around will eventually win over most viewers and endlessly frustrate the rest.

As the film begins to navigate through some of the storylines of a train crash, an airborne toxic event and finally an unknown drug called Dylar, the pure insanity of it all comes to the front and center. Noah Baumback’s directing is a force that is felt in almost every frame of the film, he deserves a lot of credit for not only bringing the “unfilmable” White Noise book to the screen, but also in his work of adapting the screenplay that serves as the page to screen go between. Some of the dialogue is absolutely to die for, the outrageousness of it all is sure to keep many audiences laughing throughout. This film is destined to be a cult classic and will be watched repeatedly and quoted highly in years to come. As I’ve already mentioned, the film triumphs in it’s originally and creativity, even if all it’s humor doesn’t work for everyone all the time. The funny and fascinating characters are all served well by the actors, Adam Driver is excellent as the backbone of the film but Chedale in his gray beard is also wonderful, Gerwig and the child actors playing the children slide seamlessly into the film. 

Several times, the quick and intelligently edited sequences impressed me, which only served to amplify the humor and some of the nonsensical dialogue. It also functioned to keep this well over two hour long ride moving, several other films I’ve watched recently that weren’t as long as this one dragged out and left me wishing the editors had done a bit more trimming to keep the pace up, but not this film. The color palette the film works in aesthetically is also wonderful, many of the bright colors and logos complement some of the impressive shot compositions the cinematography is able to deliver. The rewatchability, yes I know that’s not a word, will be high for this film as I would suspect this movie may only grow in my love and appreciation for it in successive years. Even though White Noise lingers heavily on the themes of death, the human sense of foreboding and impending doom, it’s hard to deny the film’s wild and erratic fun, even if most of the time you’re wondering to yourself, “what in the world am I watching?”.

SUMMARY - There’s nothing out there to compare this film to, but if I had to, I’d say start with National Lampoon’s Vacation, add a helping of Anchorman and Stranger Things, finally sprinkle a dash of The Burbs and Marriage Story on top and mix on high for just about two hours and fifteen minutes. I was never bored and while the zaniness of it all won’t work for some, a majority of critics and general audiences will be able to tune into White Noise and have a good time while they watch one of the wildest films of the year.