I still have one more Noah Baumbach film to see, but I think that Mr. Jealousy may be my favorite Baumbach film. Note that I am not saying that Mr. Jealousy is his best film, just my favorite. First, it is set in NYC, but not just any NYC, but the NYC of my memory when I last lived there in the late 90s.
Second, the casting is perfect. Annabella Sciorra does not get enough work. I feel like there is enough room for her and Marisa Tomei, but somehow Tomei won. It was great to see the same actress who melded sexy and smart in Jungle Fever again. Eric Stoltz is a solid actor and director. Stoutly brings a great blend of gravitas, intelligence, humor and utter dysfunction to any role. You need an actor like him to make it believable that anyone would hang out with a character like the titular character. Whoever cast Carlos Jacott and Marianne Jean-Baptiste, whom I have adored since Mike Leigh’s Secrets & Lies, as an engaged couple, and John Lehr as the clueless third wheel deserves more money and needs to never be unemployed. It is such a brilliant twining of characters and adds a casual hilarity to the absurdly brief glimpses at what happens behind closed doors. Chris Eigeman is the perfect actor to cast as the egotistical, successful, intellectual who bemoans and revels in his dilemmas.
Third, Mr. Jealousy has a great story that reminds me of classic remarriage film comedies of the golden Hollywood era. There is a great exploration of gender and sexuality that deals with how gender norms and judgment damage relationships while somehow not being pretentious or judging characters poorly for failing to rise to the challenges posed by the screwball plot.
Fourth, Mr. Jealousy also addresses issues of identity, friendship and self. The obsession over his lover’s ex is an exploration of inadequacy or a lack of ambition to become the person that he wants to be. Mr. Jealousy challenges the viewer to stop living in your head to the point of psychological damage and act- primally if necessary.
Finally, I feel like Baumbach finally achieves in Mr. Jealousy what he has tried to convey in his other films: showing what a perfect moment of love is-a secret language between two people in a crowded room communicating perfectly in the moment without the complications of history or language.