Oh look, I found my old script coverage from 2003. Here is what I thought at the time. (The movie turned out better than I thought it would. Scenes I didn’t think would work on the page, did in fact work, thanks to the first-rate cast. Never underestimate the power of a good actor!)
My comment that the mother/daughter relationship “never feels like one of the central relationships in the script” turns out to have been thunderingly wrong.
MARGARET is a long, sometimes unfocused drama that features a strong central characterization, but not much in the way of a plot. It is not as tightly constructed as Lonnergan’s last film, YOU CAN COUNT ON ME, although it demonstrates a similar feel for believable dialogue and subtle shades of emotion. The sheer quality of the writing keeps us involved most of the way through, but it could certainly stand to be shortened (by as much as 50 pages), and the lack of a strong finale causes a certain letdown.
The characterization of Lisa is the best thing about the script, a complex portrait of an adolescent. She’s sort of like a female version of Holden Caulfield from THE CATCHER IN THE RYE – slowly, grudgingly coming to terms with the fact that the world is full of phonies, and that most people don’t behave according to principle most of the time. Lonnergan doesn’t simply satisfy himself with making Lisa a charming, likeable teen. She is sometimes petulant, sometimes annoying, sometimes downright malicious and manipulative. All in all it is an impressive characterization, one that might earn an Oscar nomination – if (and this may be a big “if”) an actress could be found who could handle the part.
Lonnergan’s dialogue is very good throughout, but he has a tendency to let it run away with him. There are many scenes that go on much longer than they need to do, and others (including several of the heated classroom discussions, or some of the arguments between Lisa and her mother) which are redundant. The scenes are seldom dull, because the quality of the dialogue remains high, but they have a cumulative effect – by the time the script meanders toward its conclusion, we’re starting to feel burned out on these characters.
MARGARET’s structure isn’t entirely satisfying. To the extent that the script has a unified “plot,” it is in the traffic-accident case, and Lisa’s attempts to mastermind the lawsuit. In a sense, the final meeting with the lawyer (in which Lisa learns that there will be no condition forcing the bus driver to be fired) functions as a climax. But its scope is a little narrow, and it doesn’t provide a big emotional payoff. Then we have a subsequent scene at the opera, where Lisa weeps with her mother. This doesn’t quite work, because the Lisa/Joan relationship never really pulls us in. It never feels like one of the central relationships in the script. Actually, none of the relationships in Lisa’s life feel “central;” she’s self-absorbed and largely cut off from the other people in her life. At heart this is a rather cold script, which denies us any sentimental consolation. That is commendable in a way, but it may harm audience reception.
There is no doubt that, if produced, MARGARET would be a small movie with limited audience appeal. I doubt it would even have the modest word-of-mouth success of YOU CAN COUNT ON ME, but that is hard to judge. Probably the best reason to consider MARGARET would be its chance for prestige, awards, and acclaim, relative to a low budget. But given the shortcomings in what is unquestionably a very ambitious and intelligence [sic] script, it can’t quite be recommended.
If anyone cares, it’s on HBO Max, but I think it’s gone at the end of the month, so you have two more days to watch it!
