Noah Baumbach is one of the hardest working writer/directors in recent Hollywood history; he has put out an average of one piece of work per year since 2004. While quantity does not equal quality, Baumbach's work is still amazingly well-done, thanks to his ability to capture love, life and tragedy in some very mundane worlds. Most of Baumbach's stories take place within families or 'chosen families,' so the people he writes about are very accurate and lived-in, akin to someone you might know. His characters are almost scarily realistic at times.
Baumbach's storytelling ability is not only beautiful but personal to him as well, with Baumbach getting many of the ideas he has from his own life experiences. This also helps the viewers of his films to understand him and see themselves in his stories. Throughout the years, Baumbach has collaborated with other writers, but his most pertinent collaborator is his now partner, Greta Gerwig. The two are able to create very palpable environments and relatable characters. The pair have their own personal repertoires of work, but when they work together they are able to create something truly special, from the excellent Greenberg to their upcoming adaptation of White Noise. These are the best Noah Baumbach films, ranked.
5 Mistress America
Mistress America is probably Baumbach's least well-known collaboration with Greta Gerwig, and adheres to the structure of many of their films -- it is staged in their favorite location (NYC) and follows future step-sisters (a dysfunctional family). However, its critical reception and commercial success were much more minimal than the pair's other collaborations. Fans of Gerwig and Baumbach continue to support this film and recognize its greatness, though, as it's downright hilarious and contains well-built characters, with actors who play them well. The dysfunctional family in the story is a bit different from Baumbach's other films, too. These characters are not blood-related but still must find a way to get along and eventually begin to enjoy each other's company. While it may not be Baumbach's most famous piece of work, it is a great glimpse into see how his style has evolved and changed over the years, and is a very warm and delightful film.
4 The Squid and the Whale
The Squid and the Whale may have been Baumbach's fourth feature film as a director, but it was the first in which he (as well as Jesse Eisenberg) received massive critical success. This is one of Baumbach's most personal stories, demonstrated perfectly in his writing. Not only was this based on his childhood (which he has publicly stated) but it's a story in which you can clearly hear Baumbach's voice. This voice that is ever so present in The Squid and the Whale did a lot to move his career into the spotlight, revealing him to be a filmmaker who is not afraid to get raw, honest and personal (as seen in his later Marriage Story). The Squid and the Whale earned the writer/director his first Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay. If you are a fan of Baumbach (or new to his work) and have not yet seen The Squid and the Whale, it is hard to understand him and his story without viewing the film.
3 The Meyerowitz Stories
Noah Baumbach has recently signed a long-term deal with Netflix following the success of Marriage Story. However, Marriage Story was not his first Netflix film; that would be The Meyerowitz Stories. The Meyerowitz Stories follows yet another dysfunctional family, and while that seems to be Baumbach's favorite cast of characters, it's because it comes from a place of personal experience. Nonetheless, Baumbach's characters may come from the same place but each film he makes seems to have very different stories about very different people. The Meyerowitz Stories was another success for the director, but most impressively, received a 4-minute standing ovation at the Cannes Film Festival where it premiered. The film was even up for the coveted Palme d'Or prize at Cannes. While the film had massive critical success, it was not one of Baumbach's most commercially successful films.
2 Frances Ha
Frances Ha is the perfect encapsulation of feeling stuck. The plot of the film centers around Frances and her personal problems while also being a love letter of sorts to NYC. While being very specific, Frances' story is widely relatable and understandable for many viewers. This is due to the genius writing of Baumbach and (at the time) his first-time writing partner Greta Gerwig, who took her turn baring her soul and being personal. While the pair had worked together previously on Baumbach's Greenberg, Frances Ha shows the immense change in the director's oeuvre as he met and fell in love with Gerwig; in this sense, the film is not fully 'Baumbachian,' but you can see his fingerprints all over it. The director's choice to shoot the film in black-and-white and to use old, romantic music was risky, considering the film was released in 2013. However, it paid off, and the film received critical acclaim and continues to gain fans and viewers to this day.
1 Marriage Story
Marriage Story is probably the Baumbach film you've heard the most about, not only because of its recent release but also because of the film's massive critical acclaim and positive reception. The film is allegedly based on Baumbach's own divorce (which he paid for by writing Madagascar 3), and the way the divorce is portrayed in the film was personal for many viewers. Critics also praised the way that Baumbach did not have one parent or the other be the villain in the story, making it all the more realistic and humanizing, so that all viewers could watch as though they were a part of the story and empathize with both characters. While Marriage Story is probably Baumbach's best work to date, and one of the most brutally honest depictions of marriage on film, that does not discount all the beautiful films he made before, and all the beautiful films he is set to make in the future.