White Noise – Netflix Review (3/5)

WHITE NOISE on Netflix is a genre-blending movie from Noah Baumbach that feels like an anthology. Personally, I would have preferred more time with the horror and thriller elements, but it always entertains. Read our full White Noise movie review here!

WHITE NOISE is a new Netflix movie that covers many genres. It’s from filmmaker Noah Baumbach, but based on the 1985 novel by Don DeLillo, so it’s not “just” his crazy mind at work.

To me, this feels very much like an anthology. Both because the movie is actually divided into chapters, but also because the genre and story changes. Much like it could happen with an anthology like Love, Death & Robots. However, unlike that Netflix horror-driven anthology, this one has the same cast and characters throughout.

Continue reading our White Noise movie review below. Find it on Netflix from December 30, 2022.

The genre craziness of White Noise

Rarely – if ever – has a movie felt like such a genre-hybrid in a brutally abrupt way. One second, it feels like pure relationship drama. The next, we’re in a social commentary comedy. And then the following feel like straight-up horror.

While I did enjoy all elements of this genre-blending story (to some degree, anyway), I much preferred the horror and thriller moments.

Then again, what else would you expect? When a story gives me the darkness of horror (with a touch of comedy and social commentary), I tend to be a happy camper. So, when the story switches yet again and abandons this horror-driven plot, I’m less thrilled.

And make no mistake, there is one storyline that feels like a moment taken out of the best apocalyptic horror movies. A crazy and intense escalation and then the apocalypse is basically canceled and they go back to their ordinary lives. Much like most of the world has done with the pandemic that took hold worldwide in 2020.

However, despite the weirdness of it all (or maybe because of it!), I was never bored and that is what truly matters in the end.

Adam Driver is fascinating

While the entire cast of White Noise is amazing, Adam Driver is absolutely fascinating. Sure, he has done many interesting roles in the past, but this is just different in a profound way. He is insecure in the most basic ways but exudes confidence when he is talking about his area of expertise (he’s an expert on Hitler).

This is the kind of role you take on when you want to remind people that you are much more than a Star Wars actor. Nothing bad about Star Wars or his role in the franchise, but I almost couldn’t make my mind understand that the character in White Noise was played by the same actor who was Kylo Ren in the latest trilogy.

While all the actors in White Noise delivered amazing and multi-faceted performances, Adam Driver as Jack just blew my mind. Other key characters played by Greta Gerwig and Don Cheadle also intrigued me intensely. But none as much as Adam Driver, which did surprise me.

Watch White Noise on Netflix – yes, really, watch it!

As already stated, this is very much a Noah Baumbach movie. He directed it and adapted the White Noise novel by Don DeLillo. His previous movie was Marriage Story which also co-starred Adam Driver (alongside Scarlett Johansson). Adam Driver also played the key supporting character in his 2014 movie While We’re Young.

Just like Marriage Story, this is a Netflix production and clearly, this match with both Adam Driver and Netflix is working for Noah Baumbach.

The filmmaker stated that with White Noise he wanted to “make a movie that was as crazy as the world felt to me right now.” Well, I say “Mission Accomplished”. And yes, I do mean this as a compliment. I was fascinated by the weirdness of it all, but it also mirrored what the world feels like right now.

For this reason alone, you should watch White Noise. But make sure you actually watch it and don’t just have it on in the background.

WHITE NOISE premieres globally on Netflix on December 30, 2022.

Details

Director: Noah Baumbach
Writer: Noah Baumbach
Cast: Adam Driver, Greta Gerwig, Don Cheadle, Raffey Cassidy, Sam Nivola, May Nivola, Lars Eidinger, Andre Benjamin, Jodie Turner-Smith