Noah Baumbach is back on the scene with a 2022 new movie, White Noise, which reunites him with frequent collaborators Adam Driver and Greta Gerwig (who is also Baumbach’s partner).
With movies like Marriage Story and Frances Ha, Baumbach has become a filmmaker that always draws the attention of movie fans. With White Noise also based on a critically-praised book by Don DeLillo, including having won the National Book Award, it's another high-profile movie from the Oscar-nominated filmmaker.
Here is everything that we know about White Noise.
How to watch White Noise
After a brief run in movie theaters, White Noise is now exclusively available to watch on Netflix. You need to have a subscription to the streaming service in order to watch the movie.
White Noise plot
White Noise is a big screen adaptation of Don DeLillo’s book of the same name that follows a college professor and his family as they deal with an airborne toxic event. Here is the official synopsis:
"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."
White Noise reviews — what the critics are saying
White Noise has earned a positive mark from critics, with a 63% on Rotten Tomatoes as of December 30.
Here some snippets from reviews:
John Bleasdale, Cinevue: "This could be seen as a smug, empty exercise in satirical excoriation — and as a smug, empty exercise in satirical excoriation, it’d be one of the best — but there is a genuine heart to the film, as well as intellect."
Lex Briscuso, Slash Film: "While 136 minutes is a bit lengthy, even for this story — White Noise drags in parts, but again, so does life — the movie's electric, eccentric, and delightfully hilarious dynamic keeps you engrossed enough to make it to the end and finish out their story."
Paul Attard, Slant: "The film rarely articulates the book's ideas with any real sense of the outside world without resorting to the easy exaggerations that Don DeLillo peddled in the name of satire, which, while maybe fresh back in 1985, ring completely hollow today."
White Noise awards and nominations
Here's a list of the major awards and nominations that White Noise has earned:
- Best Actor, Musical/Comedy — Adam Driver (nominee)
Critics Choice Awards
- Best Song — "New Body Rhumba" (nominee)
Venice Film Festival
- Golden Lion (nominee)
- Green Drop Award — Noah Baumbach (winner)
White Noise cast
Adam Driver leads the White Noise cast as Jack. Driver has worked with Baumbach multiple times before, most notably in Marriage Story but also The Meyerwoitz Stories, While We’re Young and Frances Ha. Driver is an Oscar-nominated actor for Marriage Story and BlackKklansman, with some of his other big movies including House of Gucci, The Last Duel, Logan Lucky and a little thing called Star Wars. His performance has been recognized with a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor — Comedy/Musical.
Greta Gerwig is on board to play Jack’s wife, Babette. Gerwig has been more active behind the camera in recent years (Little Women, Lady Birdy and the upcoming Barbie movie), but she has also starred in multiple movies for Baumbach, including Mistress America, Frances Ha and Greenberg. Gerwig and Baumbach are partners in real life.
Also in the cast are Jodie Turner-Smith (Anne Boleyn, Queen & Slim), Don Cheadle (Avengers: Endgame, Black Monday), Raffey Cassidy (Vox Lux, The Killing of a Sacred Deer), May Nivola (The Pursuit of Love), Sam Nivola (Maestro), Lars Eidinger (Irma Vep, Babylon Berlin) and André Benjamin, aka André 3000 (Semi-Pro, High Life).
Is there a White Noise trailer?
Check out the trailers for White Noise directly below:
How long is White Noise?
White Noise has a runtime of two hours and 16 minutes.
What is White Noise rated?
White Noise is rated R in the US and 15 in the UK for "brief violence and language."
Who is Noah Baumbach?
Noah Baumbach is a writer and director that has become one of the most prominent voices of the independent film community over the last 20 or so years.
Debuting with Kicking & Screaming in 1995, Baumbach really took off with The Squid and the Whale in 2005, then with critical darlings like Greenberg, Frances Ha, While We’re Young and Mistress America. He began a partnership with Netflix with The Meyerowitz Stories that continued with Marriage Story, his most widely seen and feted movie to date, and now White Noise.
