White Noise

3 out of 5

Noah Baumbach is a director best known for his small-budget independent dramedies like The Squid and the Whale and Frances Ha. His last two films, The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected) and Marriage Story were produced by Netflix, but on similarly shoestring budgets. But with his latest work, White Noise, an adaptation of Don DeLillo’s novel of the same name, Baumbach has been given $80 million to play with (four times that of what he had for Marriage Story.) The result is a boldly unpredictable and bizarre film, as odd and confounding as one might expect a story of this ilk as it is made into a movie.

College professor Jack Gladney (Adam Driver) and his wife's (Greta Gerwig), blended family live a comfortable suburban life made up of children from his previous marriages. Jack teaches ‘Hitler Studies’ at the local college, a class filled with other quirky intellectuals. Then their simple existence is upended when a train crashes into an oil tanker nearby, which causes "The Airborne Toxic Event." The subsequent noxious black cloud over the region forces mass evacuations, and chaos ensues. However, as life settles back into their regular routines, it becomes apparent that maybe everything was not as normal as it may have seemed.

Offbeat, strange, and confounding, White Noise is an outlandish thematic chameleon of a satire that shifts between tones, genres, and storylines. It does feel messy and struggles to feel cohesive. But it also never loses this unique off-kilter entrancing quality that is equally unpredictable and entertaining. It is an almost hypnotic experience as the audience will ruminate on death and paranoia.

With his bigger budget, Baumbach gets the opportunity for massive action sequences, huge 70s sets with crazy colours, and even a final manic musical number. Adam Driver and Greta Gerwig lead a fantastically dry cast. Their interpretation of the characters is deadpan, darkly comedic, and effectively off with entertaining results. It is definitely messy and teeters on the precipice of alienating the audience. Yet, its quirky personality keeps us engaged. It feels incredibly cinematic with its twists on the Spielbergian sci-fi horror wonder atmosphere and its family action styling sensibilities. Top it off with a banger of an end credits song called ‘New Body Rhumba’ from the band LCD Soundsystem. Despite the weirdness and inconsistent tone, you may find yourself won over.

Noah Baumbach's world is a confounding film that raises many questions and provides few answers. His style may be too inaccessible for many viewers. Still, for those wanting to engage with ruminations on the frailty of life, this could be the film for you.

Reel Dialogue: Why do people fear death?

A consistent theme throughout White Noise is the impending fear of death. It is a creeping sense of doom that the characters all seek to prolong having to face for as long as possible.

For Christians, there is no need to fear death. Those from this tradition can acknowledge that it is a sad reality and do grieve those who die. Yet, there is no need to fear death since it is not the end. Believers in Jesus have an assurance of eternal life that outweighs the fear of death. This assurance bolsters many Christians to be willing to even die for their faith, knowing that death is not the end.

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” - Psalm 23:4