“White noise”, on Netflix the film based on the masterpiece by Don DeLillo

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One of the most awaited adaptations of the year: from the homonymous literary masterpiece by Don DeLillo, Noah Baumbach made his “White Noise”, a film that inaugurated the last Venice Film Festival and is now available on Netflix.
Baumbach remained deeply faithful to the spirit of the source text to tell the life of Jack Gladney, a true eminence in Hitlerian studies, who, together with his family, is faced with big and small problems of the life of all days. His existence and that of his loved ones suddenly changes when a black cloud rises from the ground to the sky: a tragic chemical accident which took place not far from their home forces them to flee from home in search of shelter.

Divided into three parts (“Waves and radiation”, “Aerotoxic event” and “Dylarama”) that follow the pace of the novel, “White noise” is a film in which Baumbach returns to examine issues he has often faced in his career, related to parent-child relationships and complex marital dynamics: his best feature films revolved around these topics, from “The Squid and the Whale” to “The Story of a Marriage”. In this case, however, the ambitions are decidedly more high since adapting DeLillo is a far from simple choice (among the previous transpositions we remember “Cosmopolis” by David Cronenberg): Baumbach succeeds in the enterprise while partially dampening the depth of the novel, due to some passages rendered a bit too hastily and some dynamics that risk a certain superficiality.

Mix logs

The great value of this film, however, is that it managed to maintain the constant change of narrative register of the source text, mixing tragedy and satire, drama and irony in an admirable way. Initially engaging and brilliant at the right point, “White Noise” drops somewhat at a distance, even if the overall design remains coherent and capable of giving rise to more than one starting point for reflection. Although the story is deeply linked to the 1980s and to Reagan’s America that it narrates, there are numerous echoes that are connected to the contemporary world and to a society in many respects decidedly similar to the one described, albeit in a paroxysmal key. Great proof by Adam Driver who confirms one of the most significant actors of his generation, after the excellent performances in “Annette” and in the aforementioned “Marriage Story”, but also the rest of the cast (among others, there are Greta Gerwig and Don Cheadle) does well his duty.

Three too many

Among the novelties at the cinema, however, there is “Three too many”, a new film by Fabio De Luigi. The director also plays one of the protagonists of this comedy centered on a couple who have chosen not to have children. Unlike many their friends, they enjoy their days in peace and without too many thoughts, but fate has other plans in store for them: for no reason, the two wake up one morning to the house invaded by three children. Being the mother and father of three children will greatly upset their lives and every certainty, firm until then, will crumble into a thousand pieces. The idea behind the film is curious and there is no shortage of enjoyable and amusing passages, but – with the exception of the initial part – the film then becomes a photocopy of several other previous works, so much so that it is a sort of variation on decidedly similar themes. spending a few carefree hours during the holidays can still be enough, but don’t ask him for more than that.