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Ranking Noah Baumbach Films

Noah Baumbach is one of the most important independent American directors of the 21^st century so far. He has a signature voice with most of his films being clearly his own as he deals with modernity, urban life, interpersonal relationships and all the complexities of human emotions and different personalities. He is a true successor of Woody Allen, though he still hasn’t made a single great movie in his career, but a couple of his films came close. Here is the ranking of all eleven films that Baumbach has directed so far.

11. White Noise

White Noise is a movie that tries to be this genre-bending showcase of different tones and experiences, but it fails miserably at every single one of them. Even worse is the dialogue itself, which is ridiculously ostentatious and just plain annoying. The acting performances are also mediocre and the film is so pretentious that it reeked of pseudo-intellectualism throughout. Consequently, this frustrating postmodernist bullcrap definitely represents the nadir of Noah Baumbach’s career and a deserved final spot on this list.

10. Margot at the Wedding

You’d think a Noah Baumbach movie starring Nicole Kidman and Jennifer Jason Leigh would be great, but you would be sorely mistaken. This film in actuality represented the nadir of the director’s career until the above flick was released. The characters are unlikable and hollow and these great performers were utterly failed by the script. It’s very interestingly shot, but otherwise it’s pointless and monotonous throughout.

9. Mr. Jealousy

Another flawed and subpar effort from the early era of the director’s career, Mr. Jealousy is certainly perfectly solid in its own right and quite memorable in its original premise and strong dialogue, but in trying to emulate so hard the tone and feel of Woody Allen movies, the director stumbled, making for a disappointing viewing experience.

8. Greenberg

Greenberg represents some of the worst tendencies of Baumbach as a filmmaker, including a script that is too slight and irreverent as well as characters that are just too unlikable to care about. Still, this was a solid, very well acted movie that benefits from per usual terrific dialogue from the writer-director and two strong performances from Ben Stiller and Greta Gerwig.

7. Frances Ha

Frances Ha has a terrific Greta Gerwig central turn and her character is so well developed. The friendship angle was also wonderful and the film deals with some interesting themes as well. The cinematography is fantastic too. However, the movie is too short, slight and ultimately overly irreverent and lacking in purpose. It’s probably the most Noah Baumbach movie on this list, but it’s ultimately too thinly plotted and meandering to make a bigger impact.

6. Kicking and Screaming

This sixth spot belongs to Kicking and Screaming, which was a solid feature debut for Noah Baumbach. Its technical aspects and acting performances are nothing to write home about and the film is slow and meandering, but that approach fits the subject matter at hand as it’s after all about clueless recent college graduates. The dialogue is especially effective at conveying just how lost most of us are during this period in our lives.

5. While We’re Young

A couple in their forties meeting a couple in their twenties made for a truly terrific premise behind this evidently flawed flick. Ben Stiller and Naomi Watts were difficult to buy in these roles as they were too old and not well cast, but their characters were terrific and the dialogue was excellent. It’s a film that deals with some interesting themes, and although rather uneven, it remains probably the most purely entertaining movie that Baumbach has made so far.

4. The Meyerowitz Stories

This movie follows a group of adult siblings who try to live their lives in the shadow of their problematic father. The film is about troubled parenthood and how fathers can impact the lives of their children in a very bad way. It’s a thematically rich, nuanced story that was uneven in its third act, but for the most part it was very well written and directed while also benefitting from two strong turns from Adam Sandler and Ben Stiller. Thus, it’s one of the director’s better films.

3. Mistress America

Mistress America was another Greta Gerwig-Noah Baumbach collaboration and by far the best of the bunch. The plot is terrific as it deals with the suddenly developing relationship between her character and her stepsister. The movie is sophisticated in its script and dialogue, wonderfully acted and for once actually funny in its terrific humor. I’ve already said above that While We’re Young is Baumbach’s most entertaining movie, but this one just might be even more fun.

2. Marriage Story

Marriage Story is the second best movie that Baumbach directed. It deals with divorce in a painful, emotionally exhilarating manner. Depicting both sides of the argument, the film is quite complex, sophisticated and grounded in reality. It featured tremendous performances across the board and one truly harrowing argument scene that was a scene-stealer. But its extensive narration in the first act and typically unrelatable characters for the general audiences took it down a notch for me. Thus, it’s no ‘A Separation’, but at times it came rather close.

1. The Squid and the Whale

The Squid and the Whale is definitely the director’s best work with absolutely magnificent acting (Jesse Eisenberg has never been better), sophisticated script and very well developed and realistic characters. Those characters are still highly unlikable and the movie at times goes into uncomfortable sexual territory, but it is still a dramatic film that is smart and relevant and explores its subject matter with great results. For all these reasons, it takes the first spot on my list.