Noah Baumbach is a critically acclaimed director who makes personal movies that are hilarious and beautiful. In this article, I will try to give interested readers a roadmap to Baumbach’s work.
With a movie scheduled to release in the fall of 2025 and 14 movies already directed, Noah Baumbach has made it so the average person—who has never seen a Noah Baumbach movie—may have no idea of where to begin. I imagine that many people reading this article have a lot of Noah Baumbach opinions, but on the off chance that you have always wanted to watch a Noah Baumbach movie and don’t know which one to start with, I have watched every feature-length film that Noah Baumbach has ever directed.
First, here’s the official ranking in descending order for those too lazy to read this full article: “The Squid and the Whale” (2005), “Margot at the Wedding” (2007), “Greenberg” (2010), “Kicking and Screaming” (1995), “Mr. Jealousy” (1997), “Frances Ha” (2012), “Mistress America” (2015), “While We’re Young” (2014), “The Meyerowitz Stories” (2017), “Marriage Story” (2019), “White Noise” (2022), and “Highball” (1997).
My three favorite Noah Baumbach films form a trilogy, which Baumbach has summed up with the following joke: “The Squid and the Whale” is his dad at his worst, “Margot at the Wedding” is his mom at her worst, and “Greenberg” is himself at his worst. Each of these three movies are uncompromisingly personal and though the main characters are sometimes hard to root for, you do so anyway because their flaws grow on you and maybe even remind you of yourself.
“The Squid and the Whale” is by far my favorite of these movies. It has the best cast, with Jesse Eisenberg, Laura Linney, and Jeff Daniels, and it is also the first Baumbach movie to deal directly with divorce (a subject that reoccurs in “Marriage Story”). The movie effortlessly captures Brooklyn’s well-off and is propelled through its perfectly dry humor—my favorite line being Walt’s, calling “The Metamorphosis,” a novel by Franz Kafka, “Kafkaesque.”
“Margot at the Wedding” is another incredible film, and my second favorite of Baumbach’s filmography. It is the most underrated of his films, as it was critically reviled at its release. The titular Margot is played perfectly by Nicole Kidman as she and her son leave New York City, N.Y. to stay with her sister in Long Island, N.Y. Like “The Squid and the Whale,” it deals with family dynamics and does so with an uncompromising hilarity.
Finally, “Greenberg” follows Roger Greenberg’s (Ben Stiller) burgeoning relationship with Florence Marr (Greta Gerwig). It is the only of these three films that is not concerned with family dynamics. Instead, it follows the trials and tribulations of aging and giving up on your artistic dreams. Roger is the most narcissistic and self-sabotaging of any of these movies’ protagonists, yet the way he goes about his self-sabotage is intensely relatable and sad. You can see why Florence falls for him, even though she is basically as nice as one can get.
My controversial opinion is that Greta Gerwig’s role as Florence is the best performance that she’s ever given. She portrays each of Florence’s awkward little mannerisms so perfectly and gives her a believable, nuanced persona. Finally, Los Angeles, Calif., the backdrop of “Greenberg,” has rarely been portrayed more accurately. From the lack of sidewalks to the traffic to the beautiful older houses and pools, it gives an inside look into the city that I was growing up in as the movie was filmed.
My favorite Noah Baumbach movies after those three are “Kicking and Screaming” and “Mr. Jealousy.” I would never try to argue that either of these movies are his next best movies, but they hold a special place in my heart. Chris Eigeman is incredible in the two, and both films have a lot of wit. The jokes are intensely repeatable, and they have a lightness that you’re normally not able to get with Baumbach, which is probably for the best. If you don’t like Noah Baumbach’s heaviness in his jokes, then there’s really no point in watching his movies.
My next favorite is “Frances Ha.” It’s shot in beautiful black and white and follows a 27-year-old Frances Halladay as she pursues her dreams of being a dancer. It is funny, sad, and really entertaining. “Frances Ha” is also the first Noah Baumbach film that is only semi-autobiographical, as Greta Gerwig co-wrote the movie with him and included her own experiences of being in New York City in her twenties as a Sacramento transplant. It certainly has the most Greta Gerwig influence, so if that interests you, this is a must-watch film.
After “Frances Ha,” I also liked “While We’re Young” and “Mistress America.” Both movies are fun and have good casts, but if I were you, I’d only watch them if you watch all of the other movies. These two movies are a little slower and less funny than their predecessors.
Finally, we get to the movies I recommend skipping. The first is “De Palma.” I am a huge Brian De Palma fan and this is a lovely documentary. However, it’s only worth seeing if you have seen a majority of Brian De Palma’s films (and he’s made a lot), because it is literally just a video of Brian De Palma talking about his movies. It doesn’t even feel like a Noah Baumbach movie, so I can’t rank it against the others. However, if you are curious about Brian De Palma, I’d recommend starting with “Carrie” (1976).
This is probably the most basic take of this entire article, but you don’t need to see “Highball.” It was released under a pseudonym because Baumbach hated it so much. The movie itself remains unfinished because of a lack of funding and certainly feels that way. In short, it is a complete mess and nearly impossible to follow. But it still is pretty funny; it’s certainly not the worst movie to be a director’s worst movie.
“White Noise” is my second-least favorite Noah Baumbach movie. It looks very nice and has a great cast, but it is excruciatingly boring to watch. Though it has its moments, it lacks any of Noah Baumbach’s unique personal elements or his sense of humor. Without that, there really is no point in watching it. Adam Driver and Greta Gerwig are normally talented Baumbach regulars, but I found their performances in this movie to be unbearably emotionless, vague, and completely uncharming. It’s no coincidence that this is probably the only Noah Baumbach movie that doesn’t have a strong connection to its location. “Kicking and Screaming” is technically set in L.A. but is shot in New York and has a strong New York City feeling. Otherwise, all of Baumbach’s movies are deeply tied to the location that he chose for them.
Another skippable Noah Baumbach movie is “Marriage Story.” This is probably my most unpopular opinion, and truthfully, the reason why I wrote this whole article in the first place. If anybody else were to recommend a Noah Baumbach movie, they’d probably tell you to see “Marriage Story.” In fact, it sits at number one on Vulture’s Noah Baumbach ranking list. But I find it to be far too long. Even its title is so clunky to me. I mean, would you rather watch something called “Marriage Story” or something called “The Squid and the Whale?” Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver are great, but the writing itself is so slow and boring. It involves the most tedious, legally-involved divorce proceeding ever. In total, the movie clocks in at two hours and sixteen minutes but feels at least five hours long. I find it so annoying to hear this movie compared to “Kramer vs. Kramer” (1979) because “Kramer vs. Kramer” is quick and exciting and only lasts an hour and forty-five minutes. Noah Baumbach has such a 100-minute indie style that it is literally incomprehensible to me that he would choose to make a movie that long. If “Marriage Story” were the first Noah Baumbach movie I’d seen, I’d never want to see a movie by him ever again. This is the part of the article where I’d beg you not to listen to everyone else and to just trust me instead.
Finally, “The Meyerowitz Stories” is yet another unimpactful Noah Baumbach movie. I just didn’t find it to be that fun. However, I don’t feel as strongly about it as I do about “Marriage Story” and would even consider recommending it to you if you had seen the other ones I liked more, but I decided against it. I truthfully don’t have much to say about this movie.
Overall, I am grateful for Noah Baumbach. I love that we have a filmmaker making sophisticated and intelligent movies about complex and emotional people. Even though I haven’t liked his recent movies as much, I still think it is good for us as a society to have somebody making movies like these still around.
Henry Kaplan can be reached at hr******@******an.edu.
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