Cert 15 Stars 5

Scarlett Johansson puts herself in line for her first Oscar nomination with a terrifically mature performance in this sublime and gently devastating divorce drama.

Best known as Marvel superhero Black Widow, Johansson shows how great she can be when working from a powerful script, which is a compellingly precise dissection of an increasingly desperate situation full of blame, manipulation and extraordinary anger.

Alongside his strong performance in The Report which is also released in the UK this week, Adam Driver equals Johansson’s brilliance as her husband, and the wonderfully observed story follows the couple’s failing relationship as it collapses into a fierce custody battle for their young son.

Therapists, judges and social workers become involved, as well as a trio of wildly expensive lawyers played with impeccable style and wit by Alan Alda, Ray Liotta and best of all, Laura Dern.

As the couple become so tied up in ‘winning’, they lose sight of the amicable separation they initially were trying to achieve, and their Marriage Story left me in tears.