In 2019, during the time of the Pandemic, when Noah Baumbach picked up a copy of White Noise by Don DeLillo to re read it, after just having lost hus father, it had a big effect on him.
According to Noah Baumbach the film dives deep into “The lengths that people go to defend themselves or their families or children from perceived or unperceived dangers of the outside while ignoring the fissures that are occurring inside.”
Courtesy of Netflix
White Noise is set in the 80’s and that heavily translates onscreen. “White Noise was designed as a kind of idea of the 1980s,” Baumbach explained during a recent phone conversation about the making of the film. The Netflix production is the closest thing to a big blockbuster that he has directed so far. This is also his second collaboration with Adam Driver. “It was fun to essentially do a nostalgic, alternate ’80s, which wasn’t really what the decade was like. Everything was inspired by real things, but we were looking at a memory-slash-fantasy-slash-idea of a time and place.”
Courtesy of Netflix
The story follows the Gladney family. At once hilarious and horrifying, lyrical and absurd, ordinary and apocalyptic, “White Noise” dramatizes a contemporary American family’s attempts to deal with the mundane conflicts of everyday life while grappling with the universal mysteries of love, death, and the possibility of happiness in an uncertain world. Starring Adam Driver, Greta Gerwig, Don Cheadle, Raffey Cassidy, Sam Nivola, May Nivola, Lars Eidinger, Andre Benjamin, Jodie Turner-Smith. Written and Directed by Noah Baumbach, Produced by David Heyman, Uri Singer, Executive Produced by Brian Bell and Leslie Converse with Music by Danny Elfman.
This enthralling story asks the questions of life and death in a comedic, and entertaining way, the film throws you into the midst of unexpected situations, with vivid cinematography, colorful costumes and exciting action, as well as complex characters. We see brilliant leading performances from Adam Driver for which he earned a Golden Globe nomination and Greta Gerwig as well as a great supporting performance from Don Cheadle.
In a recent interview with Tudum
Noah Baumbach spoke about the toe tapping end credits scene, set in the supermarket and how crucial it is to the film. “The supermarket is both ordinary and extraordinary at the same time, it depends on how and when you look at it.” The end credits songs ends with a new LCD Soundsystem song, “new body rhumba.”
“I’ve been friends with James Murphy, the band’s front man since he did songs for Greenberg,” Baumbach says. “After choreographer David Neumann and I worked on the dance for a bit, I asked James if he could write an upbeat song about death. I knew this would appeal to him. As would the ’80s time period.”
Courtesy of Netflix
Speaking about the dance sequence, Baumbach goes on to say “The dance sequence was shot over two days on the supermarket set designed by Jess Gonchor in an abandoned Home Depot. Weeks in advance, James, David and I came up with a tempo that worked for the movement. James later wrote the song to fit the tempo.”
He goes on to say “What I love about David’s choreography is that it’s designed to fit the individual. Some of the movement is more complex and involved and some is very simple. So, everyone could move and dance in a way that represented and celebrated themselves.”
According to Baumbach “The final scene is a dance of death and a dance of life. It’s a celebration of all that’s ending. Which is a celebration of all that is.”
White Noise is Streaming on Netflix Now!
Fangirl and Writer with a huge passion for entertainment.
