Margaret (2011 film)

Margaret is a 2011 American epic psychological drama film  written and directed by Kenneth Lonergan. The film stars Anna Paquin, Jean Reno, Matt Damon, Mark Ruffalo, J. Smith-Cameron, Jeannie Berlin, Allison Janney, Matthew Broderick, Kieran Culkin, Olivia Thirlby, and Rosemarie DeWitt. Margaret was filmed in 2005 and originally scheduled for release that year by Fox Searchlight Pictures, but was repeatedly delayed while Lonergan struggled to create a final cut he was satisfied with, resulting in multiple lawsuits. The litigation ended in 2014.

While the studio insisted the film's running time could not exceed 150 minutes, Lonergan's preferred version was closer to three hours. Martin Scorsese and Thelma Schoonmaker contributed to editing a 165-minute version that Lonergan approved; the cut was never released because producer Gary Gilbert refused to approve it. Eventually, Fox Searchlight Pictures released the 150-minute film in a limited release in the United States on September 30, 2011, to moderately positive reviews from critics. Some considered it overlong, but it was praised for its acting and later appeared in several publications' lists of the year's best films. Critical praise has grown over time, and Margaret is now regarded as one of the best films of the 2000s and of the 21st century, and was ranked 31st in a BBC critics poll of the 21st century's 100 greatest films.

Lonergan completed a three-hour extended version incorporating extra footage with a revised score and sound mix, which was released on DVD in July 2012.

The title of the film comes from the Gerard Manley Hopkins poem “Spring and Fall: To a Young Child,” which is discussed in Lisa's English class. In the poem, the narrator speaks to a young girl named Margaret, who is grieving the death of autumn leaves as if they were dying friends. The narrator explains to Margaret that this grief, although it feels profound, is an inescapable part of the human condition.

Plot
A 17-year-old Manhattan student, Lisa Cohen, shopping on the Upper West Side, interacts with bus driver Gerald Maretti as she runs alongside his moving bus; he allows himself to become distracted, leading him to fatally strike a pedestrian, Monica Patterson, who subsequently dies in Lisa's arms. Initially, Lisa reports to the police that the driver had a green traffic signal, but later, out of remorse, changes her story.

Lisa has a rocky relationship with her mother Joan, an actress who has recently found success starring in a play. They fight sporadically and Lisa is ambivalent toward Joan's success in theater and her new boyfriend Ramon. Meanwhile, Lisa is in a back-and-forth discussion with her father over an upcoming trip to his home. Lisa's life takes various turns: she flirts with her math teacher, Aaron Caije, which later results in them having sex, her decision to lose her virginity to classmate Paul Hirsch, and various vehement debates with classmates about politics and terrorism. Much later, she tells Caije, in the presence of another teacher, that she had an abortion and was not sure who the father was, mentioning there were several possibilities.

Lisa confronts Maretti at his home. He pretends to have forgotten the details of the accident, but later reveals to her in anger that he does remember them, but believes he did nothing wrong. Lisa decides to pursue his firing with passion. Alongside Monica's best friend, Emily, and cousin, Abigail, Lisa ultimately becomes involved in a wrongful death lawsuit against the Metropolitan Transit Authority, seeking the dismissal of Maretti, who has caused two previous accidents, as well as monetary damages, which would be awarded to Abigail as the Monica's next of kin.

Lisa and Emily become close, though the friendship is rocky, especially when they later have an argument where Emily accuses Lisa of using the situation to add drama to her life. Lisa, Joan, Emily, and Ramon attend an after show dinner, which ends with Ramon making a remark that Emily perceives as anti-Semitic. Joan and Ramon have a minor falling out and Ramon dies of a heart attack sometime after.

The lawsuit reaches a conclusion, with an award of $350,000, but the MTA refuses to fire Maretti, out of concern that it would inflame a labor dispute. Abigail claims the settlement offer, revealing the monetary settlement to have been her primary motivation; this causes Lisa to become very upset and disillusioned with the outcome of the case.

Lisa and Joan attend an opera that Joan was to see with Ramon before his death. On the way, Lisa sees Maretti driving the same bus that had killed Monica and there is a brief moment where the two see each other. During the opera performance, Lisa bursts out crying as a result of the accumulated emotion from the everything that has happened and she and her mother affectionately reconnect, crying together and holding each other as the opera goes on.

Production
Filmed in 2005, the film's lengthy post-production sparked multiple lawsuits, which were scheduled to be tried in 2009. In July 2010, Fox Searchlight stated that Lonergan finally completed work on the film, and that it would be released in 2011.

Soundtrack
Original music was composed by Nico Muhly with additional cues by Elliott Carter. The film also features two scenes at the Metropolitan Opera, featuring "Casta diva" from Bellini's Norma, and "Belle nuit, ô nuit d'amour" (Barcarolle) from Jacques Offenbach's Les contes d'Hoffmann.

Critical response
Margaret received mostly positive reviews from critics. , the film holds a 74% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 100 reviews, with an average rating of 7.15 out of 10. The critical consensus states, "A surfeit of ideas contributes to Margaret's excessive run time, but Anna Paquin does an admirable job of guiding viewers through emotional hell." The film also holds a score of 61 out of 100 on Metacritic (based on 27 critics), indicating "generally favorable reviews".

For her role as Lisa Cohen, Paquin shared the 2011 Best Actress Award from the London Film Critics Circle and received a nomination for Best Actress from the Chicago Film Critics Association. She placed first in critics' polls from the LA Weekly, the Village Voice, and the International Cinephile Society. On December 23, 2011, Fox Searchlight sent screeners of the film to AMPAS members.

Margaret earned five-star reviews from Time Out, The Daily Telegraph, and The Guardian. It also ranked 31st in a 2016 BBC poll of the 21st century's greatest films. It has made many best of decade lists for the 2010s. In 2019, critic Richard Brody named it one of the 27 best movies of the decade.

Some critics have cited the film as an example of a great New York City movie and a portrait of a traumatized Manhattan in the wake of 9/11.

Box office
Despite being well received critically, Margaret was commercially unsuccessful. The film was given a limited release in North America in 14 theaters and earned $46,495. In the UK, it débuted on only one screen in one cinema – Odeon Panton Street in London. Such was the interest in the film that it took £4,595 in its opening weekend, giving it by some margin the highest screen average of any film on release at the time. In France, it débuted on only one screen in one cinema – Publicis Champs Elysées in Paris. The worldwide total for the film was $623,292, well below its $14 million production budget.

Legacy
Due to critical reevaluation, Margaret is now regarded as one of the best films of its decade, and was ranked 31st in a BBC critics poll of the 21st century's 100 greatest films.

Home media
An extended cut of the film was released on DVD in July 2012 in both the UK and the US. The US release also includes a Blu-ray of the film featuring the theatrical cut in high definition.