The Timely Adam Driver Black Comedy That’s A Netflix Must-See
Portraying Kylo Ren in the latest batch of Star Wars movies and starring opposite Scarlett Johansson in Marriage Story may have solidified Adam Driver as a drama-heavy actor, but we’ll never forget his roots. Making his breakthrough performance in Lena Dunham’s series, Girls, the star has always had a penchant for blending the dramatic with a side of heavy comedy. Now, audiences can catch one of his latest masterfully performed roles in Netflix’s black comedy, White Noise.
Starring alongside Barbie director Greta Gerwig, Adam Driver appears in White Noise as a brainy father to four children who finds himself trying to keep his fourth wife and blended family safe during an environmental disaster.
The Adam Driver-led feature was met with mixed reviews from audiences and critics with many agreeing that the plot of White Noise was eerily “timely”.
Along with Driver and Gerwig, the feature also starred Secret Invasions Don Cheadle with an ensemble including Jodie Turner-Smith (Queen & Slim), Raffey Cassidy (Tomorrowland), Tony Award-nominated performer Sam Gold, Outkast frontman André Benjamin, Sam Nivola, and May Nivola.
Taking his latest project to celebrate its premiere at the Venice International Film Festival, Noah Baumbach (The Squid and the Whale) would also kick off the New York Film Festival with the dark comedy. The Adam Driver-led feature was met with mixed reviews from audiences and critics with many agreeing that the plot of White Noise was eerily “timely”. On Rotten Tomatoes, the split in opinions is evident as the film holds 64 percent.
Box office-wise, it certainly wasn’t one of Adam Driver’s big earners throughout his career, with White Noise raking in just over $79,000 with a production budget of $100 million. However, it’s good to keep in mind that the film was made for Netflix and only saw itself with a short release into a handful of select cinemas.
For Adam Driver and Noah Baumbach, White Noise marked yet another time the pair had joined forces on a film with the first being in 2012’s Frances Ha. In a much different vein, the pair previously worked together on 2019’s A Marriage Story. Certainly nowhere near as light as the comedic disaster film, A Marriage Story, followed a crumbling relationship between two spouses and the bitter divorce to follow.
Despite being a frequent collaborator of Noah Baumbach’s, Adam Driver’s name is unlikely to be the one that fans most connect with the White Noise helmer. Paired together both in romance and in film creation, Baumbach has long been attached to Greta Gerwig. In the past, the duo has worked together on forming such titles as Frances Ha and Mistress America, with their latest project being the box office-crushing Barbie.
Put to the background of the wacky misadventures that Adam Driver and Greta Gerwig’s on-screen family finds themselves in, Danny Elfman’s particular style of composition fits in perfectly with the theme of White Noise.
And, while Adam Driver and Greta Gerwig’s performances didn’t rake in quite the same praise as that of Gerwig’s Barbie, the cast and crew of White Noise still found themselves in the running during award season. Driver nabbed a Golden Globe nomination for his role in the Netflix film, while the title’s premiere at the Venice Film Festival saw it nominated for two awards, with the project taking home the event’s Green Drop Award.
Known for his skill behind soundtracks including The Nightmare Before Christmas and Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness, fans with keen ears can pick up the melodies of Danny Elfman in White Noise. Put to the background of the wacky misadventures that Adam Driver and Greta Gerwig’s on-screen family finds themselves in, Elfman’s particular style of composition fits in perfectly with the theme of White Noise.
White Noise Is Based On A Book
Like many great movies and shows coming out over the last few years, the Adam Driver-led feature was also based on a popular novel. Penned by Don DeLillo and published in 1985, White Noise was a beloved read at the time, even taking home the title for that year’s National Book Award for Fiction. Proving that the story of absurdism and environmental tragedy still rings true today, Noah Baumbach was able to craftily mold DeLillo’s writing into a film almost three decades later.
Although Noah Baumbach and Adam Driver don’t have any upcoming projects announced at this time (though, we would’ve loved to see Driver in Barbie), the latter is staying busy delivering fans plenty of content.
Next, audiences will spot Adam Driver behind – well – the driver’s seat in the biographical drama, Ferrari. Beyond that project, he’ll join an incredible cast with names including Aubrey Plaza, Jason Schwartzman, Forest Whitaker, and Nathalie Emmanuel in Francis Ford Coppola’s latest production, Megalopolis. While awaiting the arrival of both titles, head to Netflix to catch White Noise.
