‘White Noise Movie Review: Noah Baumbachs Absurdist Drama Is Eerily Topical

Don DeLillo 's The long overdue satire noir comes to life in Adam Driver's virtuoso performance as Professor Jack Gladney. He is an abusive husband to his fourth wife, Babette (Greta Gerwig), and a somewhat ineffective father to their blended family.

Jack has two children from a previous marriage, Henrik (Sam Nivola) and Steffy (May Nivola), Denise (Raffy Cassidy) is Babette's daughter from a previous marriage, and the couple have one son, Wilder.

Jack manages Hitler's education at College-on-the-Hill, angering his colleague and pop culture guru Murray (Don Cheadle). One of Jack's secret faults is that he doesn't speak German and hopes to learn the basics before his big conference speech at the end of the year.

Jack and Babette both fear death and have a long discussion about which of them will die first. Denise, who was born prematurely, worries that her mother is addicted to the little white pill on the list. Heinrich is obsessed with various scientific concepts, while Steffy is obsessed with endless and moving facts.

Like the novel, Baumbach, who wrote the screenplay, advances themes of media misinformation ("the family is a hotbed of misinformation"), consumerism, the irrelevance of academia, and the futility of the bureaucratic process. Still following the novel's setting, it is divided into several episodes that introduce characters, including white noise waves and radiation, and air damage events that accentuate and heighten Jack and Babette's fear of death.

Murray's field of study highlights the importance of academia; The film opens with a lead shot of a car crash that feels like a symbol of optimism in American cinema. He believes that supermarkets fulfill us spiritually. Murray seeks out a section for Elvis Presley research and enlists Jack's help in pursuing the case, leading to both professors' descriptions of uncanny similarities between Hitler and King.

A chemical spill would trigger a panic-inducing mass evacuation and also raise the prospect of drowning in bureaucracy in the Himalayas. As Jack told the SIMUVAC (Evacuation Simulation) officer, "You see an opportunity to practice simulation using real events." The fact that he is making this statement so seriously highlights the irony of the situation.

Although it was made in the 80s, white noise is very useful. It's the kind of movie that laughs while stripping away the fear. A gorgeous shot, Baumbach evokes a distinct '80s style as there's a hint of vulgarity running through bright colors and stacks of supermarket shelves.

A song and dance in a supermarket ends the credits for an exciting and moving moment in cinema.

White Noise is currently streaming on Netflix.

80s Hyperreal: White Noise Product Design | Netflix