Marriage Story Trivia Quiz

Answer: For a mediation over their proposed separation

Charlie begins by describing what he loves about Nicole: "She makes people feel comfortable about even embarrassing things. She really listens when someone is talking... She cuts all our hair... Nicole gives great presents... She's competitive... After that movie, 'All Over the Girl', she could have stayed in LA and been a movie star, but she gave that up to do theater with me... She's my favorite actress."

Nicole does likewise: "Charlie is undaunted... He doesn't look in the mirror too often... He's very self-sufficient. He can darn a sock, and cook himself dinner, and iron a shirt... He never looks embarrassing, which is hard for a man... He's very competitive... He loves being a dad... He can tell people when they have food in their teeth or on their face in a way that doesn't make them feel bad... He's brilliant at creating family out of whoever is around."

We see Nicole holding her list, which is written out in longhand on a couple of sheets of paper. She and Charlie are sitting in separate armchairs across from a man. "Who wants to start?" he asks. "I'm not going to read this out loud," Nicole says, as she folds up her list dejectedly. "I don't like what I wrote." The man has seen this kind of thing before. "As we mediate your separation and eventual divorce, things can get quite contentious," he says gently. "So, I like to begin with a note of positivity, for the people I work with to remember why they got married in the first place. And so that, as you come apart, you're reminded that this is a person you had great feeling for, and maybe still do in many ways." Charlie offers to read his list - he likes what he wrote - but the mediator explains that for this to work, they both have to read. "I'm not going to," Nicole declares. She collects her things and leaves.

Answer: A divorce lawyer

Nicole is at the studio for a hair and makeup test when Carol visits her in her trailer. "I'm going to give you a number," she says. "She's a lawyer. She represented me when I left Dennis." Nicole is unsure. "We talked about doing it without lawyers. My sister had me meet a bunch of them already, and I just hated them," she explains. "Call Nora," Carol says. "She saved my life."

Nicole meets with Nora Fanshaw, who is as professional as she is disarming. She dispenses with the pleasantries - complimenting Nicole on her acting - and immediately focuses all her attention on Nicole. When a simple "How are you doing?" from Nora provokes tears from Nicole, Nora walks over, picks up a box of Kleenex and in one practiced motion slips her shoes off her feet and perches herself on the couch next to her. She builds empathy with Nicole by revealing that she has been through this process herself, and gets her to open up about her issues with Charlie. "Where do you want to live now, doll?" she asks. "Well, I'm here now, obviously. I don't know if the show will get picked up, but it feels like home - it is home! It's the only home I've ever known without Charlie," Nicole explains tearfully. "You want to stay here?" Nora asks. "Charlie's not going to want that. He hates LA," Nicole replies. "We're interested in what you want to do," Nora says firmly. "I want you to listen to me. What you're doing is an act of hope. Do you understand that?" Nicole nods in agreement, beginning to believe. "You're saying, 'I want something better for myself.'," Nora continues. "And this, right now, is the worst time. It will only get better."

Charlie arrives in Los Angeles to see Henry, and the visit starts off well enough - Charlie informs Nicole that he won a MacArthur grant, and she is truly happy for him. "It's yours too. We did all of this together," Charlie says, but Nicole dismisses him. "Thank you, but it's yours, Charlie, you enjoy it." Charlie is greeted warmly by Sandra, Nicole's mother, who has a genuine affection for her son-in-law. Charlie is completely blindsided when Nicole serves him with divorce papers. "I thought we agreed we weren't going to use lawyers," he says. "What did you expect was going to happen?" Nicole asks. When Charlie asks what he should do, she advises him to get a lawyer.

Answer: New York

Charlie meets with Jay Marotta, but the meeting isn't what he expected. Jay requires a $25,000 retainer - more than Charlie can afford - and wants to spend up to another $20,000 to perform a forensic accounting of his finances. Charlie wants to stick to what he and Nicole had agreed - an amicable divorce - but doesn't yet realize that the legal system for divorce is set up to create divisions rather than build accord. Jay knows the game all too well, and quickly identifies the pressure points in Charlie's case. "You were married here in LA?" he asks. "Yes, because her mom and sister are out here and I'm not close with my family," Charlie explains. "So, you got married here, your kid was born here, and she served you here?" Jay continues. "Yeah, but we lived in New York. Why? Is there a problem?" Charlie asks.

"If you're serious about having your child in New York, this is what I suggest," Jay advises. "You take Henry to New York with you right now. Then we file an action in New York. We make this a New York case." Jay's associate, Ted, adds on. "We need to make an argument that you're a New York-based family," he says. "Otherwise, you'll probably never see your kid outside of LA again," Jay explains. "It's very hard to convince the courts to move a kid. As soon as you let your wife and child leave New York, you made life very difficult for yourself." Charlie is incredulous, stating that it's simply a fact that they are a New York based family. When Jay learns that Charlie's play is moving to Broadway, he begins strategizing about how to protect the profits of Charlie's theater company. Things quickly spiral out of hand from there - Jay proposes that they draw Nicole's mother into the dispute in the hopes of getting her to fund some of the legal costs, and suggests that Charlie hires a private investigator to dig up dirt on Nicole. When Charlie questions the strategy, Jay explains that he can expect the same from the other side. "Look, you need to be prepared for the fact that Nora is going to portray you as a neglectful, absent father," Jay explains. "You live in New York. You're consumed with your work. She and your kid are out here, struggling. Nora's going to use that strategy. I'm sure of it." Charlie doesn't believe that Nicole will stoop to such tactics, but Jay tries to disabuse him of the notion. "Listen, if we start from a place of reasonable, and they start from a place of crazy, when we settle, we'll be somewhere between reasonable and crazy," he says. "Half of crazy is crazy." Charlie has heard enough. "We're doing it a different way, and I can't even close to afford this," he says, as he gets up to leave. "I've got to get back to New York. I have a Broadway play in rehearsals."

Answer: He's the first person in this process to treat Charlie like a human being.

Charlie drags Henry to different office buildings to find a lawyer, but has difficulty locating someone who isn't conflicted from representing him because Nicole had already met with them. As a receptionist in one of the firms explains, "It's common that people meet with as many lawyers as possible so that their spouse has limited options." Charlie eventually gets the name of someone from Sandra and meets with him.

"Getting divorced with a kid can be one of the hardest things you'll ever do. It's like a death without a body," Bert says when they first meet. "Here's how I see it. If we get bogged down in 'Who did this', and 'Who did that', and 'I don't want to pay the two dollars', it'll just cost you more money and time and emotional stress, and you'll probably end up with the same result anyway." Charlie agrees with what Bert is saying. "And I always go with the truth, no matter where that takes us," Bert continues. "You know, most people in my business make up the truth so they can get where they need to go. You're just transactions to them. I like to think of you as people." They talk hourly rates and retainers - unsurprisingly, Bert's fees are more reasonable than Jay Marotta's. Bert tells Charlie that they have to prepare to go to court, while hoping that they don't end up in court, because "the courts in California are a disaster". He also advises Charlie to spend as much time with Henry as he can, and to rent an apartment in LA to help with access and custody (staying in a hotel doesn't look good to the court), while at the same time keeping their apartment in New York, to maintain his argument that they are a New York family. "This shouldn't be that complicated, right?" Charlie asks in frustration. "I hope so, yes," Bert replies. "I see no reason - you both love your child, you respect each other - why this shouldn't be relatively pain-free." Bert turns to look at Charlie. "I want you to know that eventually this will all be over, and whatever we win or lose, it'll be the two of you having to figure this out together," he says with compassion. "Thank you," Charlie says. "You're the first person in this process who's spoken to me like a human." They hug. "You remind me of myself on my second marriage," Bert says warmly.

Answer: A Greek salad

Nora kicks off the meeting by setting the scene - Henry was born in Los Angeles, where he currently attends elementary school and where his primary custodial parent, Nicole, works as an actress on a TV show. Their position is that Charlie should exercise any access to Henry by visiting him here in California. "Nora, you seem to be ignoring the fact that they lived in New York for ten years," Bert points out. Nora quickly characterizes that as merely the period when her client was working in New York, and counters that Nicole was born in LA, her family live in LA, and Nicole and Charlie got married in LA. "It's my client's expectation that after this TV show is completed, the parties will move back to New York where they currently keep an apartment," Bert says. "And it's my understanding that Charlie promised Nicole that they would spend more time in Los Angeles during the marriage. But because of his insistence that his work keep them in New York, Nicole ended up staying there much longer than she ever anticipated," Nora replies. She goes on to say that she doesn't see why Charlie can't move to LA, prompting Bert to point out that he makes his living in New York. Nora's assistant interrupts - do they want to order lunch? The lawyers all switch focus to the food menu, placing their orders. The sudden pivot takes Charlie by surprise. He sighs and stares at the menu, turning it over to find nothing on the other side. Nora's assistant is standing by expectantly. Nicole holds out her hand for the menu and consults it. "Charlie will have, um... the Greek salad, but with lemon and olive oil instead of the Greek dressing," she declares. You can decide that you don't want to be with someone, but that doesn't mean that you stop knowing how to take care of them. "Okay," Charlie says, approving.

The group make small talk for a while about Charlie's play, but the conversation quickly moves back to business. "We don't share your assertion that the couple is an LA-based family. It was very clearly their deal that they would go back to New York after Nicole finished her show," Bert says. "I'm not aware of any deal," Nora replies. "Well, I didn't get it in writing," Charlie interjects, his frustration getting the better of him. "Charlie, is this like the deal that you made that you Nicole would spend more time in LA during your marriage?" Nora asks. "We didn't have a deal. It was something we discussed," Charlie replies. Nora goes in for the kill. "So, it's a deal when it's something you want and a discussion when Nicole wants it?" she asks pointedly. Bert steps in to defuse the situation. "Nora, do you have a spare office where Charlie and I can sidebar?" he asks.

Answer: Henry living in Los Angeles

"Nora is a very good lawyer," Bert says, once he and Charlie are alone in another room. "And you're in a bind because you've shown you're willing to fly out here and rent an apartment to see your son." Charlie calmly reminds Bert that he was the one who told him to do that. "And I'm doing that because I want to see my kid, not to set a precedent," he adds. "Yes, but unfortunately, you are setting a precedent. And a judge might look at it that way," Bert says. "What's the alternative? I stay in New York and never come out here?" Charlie asks. "No, because then it would look to the court like you don't care about seeing your son," Bert replies. "Court or no court? Stop saying 'court' and then 'never court'," Charlie blurts out, tired of Bert's prevarication. "Well, the way this is going, we may have to go to court," Bert replies unhelpfully. "Are you aware of how maddening you sound?" Charlie asks. "I am," Bert replies, just as unhelpfully. He goes on to tell Charlie that he doesn't think a judge will move Henry from California, and advises Charlie to settle today. "Settle meaning what?" Charlie asks. "She gets LA," Bert replies.

Charlie becomes animated. "No, Bert," he says. "I mean, we have to win this." He starts pacing the room. "Remember, the win is what's best for Henry. And if you guys go to court, he's going to get pulled into it," Bert points out. "But if he stays here and I stay in New York, that's just... then I won't... I'll never get to really be his parent again," Charlie says. "I'll do whatever you want me to do, but this is my advice - I've seen these things go on and on, and the burden of these battles is immeasurable," Bert says. "If we give on LA right now, and then try to make the best deal possible, I think we can get her to give on other fronts." Charlie is at his breaking point. "There are no other fronts!" he says, raising his voice. "This is the thing! He needs to know that I fought for him!" Bert is unmoved. "He'll know," he says quietly. "Whatever happens here, it's temporary. He's growing up. He's going to have opinions on the subject. Time is on your side, Charlie. Maybe he'll do college on the East Coast." Charlie breaks down in tears.

Answer: False

Nora and Nicole sit on a bench outside the courtroom, waiting for their case to be called. They are expecting to go in and record their settlement, but Nora's face drops when she spots Charlie approaching. "Charlie shouldn't have done this," Nora says, as Charlie makes his way down the hallway accompanied by Jay Marotta. He has evidently fired Bert and gone with a tougher lawyer. "This means that everything we've agreed upon now is off the table," Nora says to Nicole. "We've got LA, right?" Nicole asks, concerned. "Not with Jay Marotta representing him. This is a street fight now. And I'm going to have to ask for things that we wouldn't normally ask for," Nora explains. "This system rewards bad behavior."

Inside the courtroom, things escalate quickly. Jay begins by arguing that Nicole owes her career to her involvement in Charlie's plays, and that Charlie should be entitled to half of Nicole's present and future earnings from her TV show. Nora counters by submitting that by that same logic, Nicole should be entitled to half of Charlie's MacArthur grant, amounting to $650,000. "I don't see how you can claim that she gets half a grant dedicated to his genius," Jay says. "He became a genius during the course of the marriage," Nora replies, and informs the court that when Charlie told Nicole about the grant, he said that it belonged to her too. Jay accuses Nicole of withholding Henry from Charlie, prompting Nora to bring up Charlie's infidelity. Jay points out that Nicole only confirmed Charlie's affair by hacking into his email account, which constitutes a felony, and then casually mentions Nicole's alcohol consumption. "What?" Nicole blurts out, surprised. "She confided in Charlie one night recently, having just carried Henry to bed, that she was having trouble standing while walking down the staircase. And from what I understand, this is not an isolated event," Jay says, referring to a minor incident one night when Nicole had too much wine at dinner. Nora counters with an equally innocent incident. "On a recent visit to Los Angeles, after failing to call, text, communicate in any way, shape, or form, Charlie finally arrived two hours late to pick up Henry at Nicole's mother's house," Nora informs the court. "At that point, the car seat, which he had assured Nicole had been professionally installed, was clearly not even belted in. It was just sitting in the back seat." This last exchange, in particular, demonstrates how relatively minor incidents can be blown completely out of proportion to achieve a desired effect, and illustrates how adversarial divorce proceedings are often a zero-sum game.

The judge puts a stop to the lawyers' submissions, and appoints an expert evaluator to assess the situation and report back to the court.

Answer: He wishes she was dead.

Nicole visits Charlie in his apartment to discuss a possible resolution, to avoid dragging Henry into the fray now that an evaluator has been appointed. "I thought we should talk," she begins. "I feel like maybe things have gone too far." Nicole wants to try and keep Henry removed from their divorce if they can help it, and Charlie agrees with the sentiment. "So maybe we can figure something out between us," she says." You remember I said this to you at the beginning?" Charlie points out. They start by discussing Nicole's desire to live in LA, but can't find common ground. Nicole remembers Charlie promising that they would spend more time in California, while Charlie never considered that they would live anywhere other than New York. "Honestly, I never considered anything different," he says. "Well, that's the problem, isn't it? I mean, I was your wife. You should've considered my happiness too," Nicole counters. "Come on, you were happy. You've just decided you weren't now," Charlie says. "The only reason we didn't live here is because you can't imagine desires other than your own, unless they're forced on you," Nicole points out. "Okay, you wish you hadn't married me, you wish you'd had a different life, but this is what happened," Charlie says, clearly frustrated.

They complain about their respective character assassinations at the hands of their lawyers, and argue about how none of this is good for Henry. "He tells me you're on the phone all the time. You don't play with him," Nicole says. "Because I'm going through a divorce in LA and trying to direct a play in New York! Which closed because I wasn't there," Charlie points out. "You're fighting for something you don't even want!" Nicole says. "You'll never be happy, in LA or anywhere. You'll think you found some better opposite guy than me, and in a few years, you'll rebel against him," Charlie lashes out. "I think about being married to you, and that woman is a stranger to me," Nicole says. "You've regressed. You've gone back to your life before you met me, it's pathetic," Charlie counters, before accusing Nicole of using him so she could get out of LA. "I didn't use you," Nicole insists. "You did, and then you blamed me for it! You always made me aware of what I was doing wrong, how I was falling short! Life with you was joyless!" Charlie says. "I can't believe I have to know you forever!" Nicole says, as Charlie punches his fist into the wall, creating a hole. "Every day I wake up and I hope you're dead!" Charlie yells, pointing an accusatory finger at Nicole. "Dead, like if I could guarantee Henry would be okay, I'd hope you'd get an illness, and then get hit by a car and die!" He steps back from a shocked Nicole and covers his face with his hands. "Oh, God," he cries, as he falls to the floor crying, deeply ashamed. Nicole walks over to Charlie and comforts him, as he continues weeping. "I'm sorry," he says, as he wraps his arms around her legs. "Me too," she says.

Answer: Charlie accidentally cuts himself with a knife.

Nancy Katz, the evaluator, pays a visit to Charlie and Henry at Charlie's apartment. Charlie is desperate to make a good impression but can't help being awkward, and it doesn't help that the evaluator is quiet and strange. "Do the thing with the knife," Henry says at dinner to break the monotony. "No," Charlie replies. "It's not a dinner thing." The evaluator's curiosity is piqued. "What's the thing with the knife?" she asks. "It's dumb," Charlie says. "I have a small knife on my key chain, which is only for adults, and I do a thing with it sometimes." After dinner, Charlie helps Henry with his reading but he soon tires of it and asks if he can go to his room and play. Charlie is alone with the evaluator, and sees her noticing the hole in the wall where he had punched it during his fight with Nicole. To break the awkward silence, he talks about the first thing that comes to mind.

"The knife thing is, I carry this knife on my key chain, which his mother got me, actually," he begins, pulling out his keys and holding up a small X-Acto knife. "And I do this thing for his mom where I pretend to cut myself, but I retract the blade, but I don't do it with him." Charlie demonstrates the knife trick as he talks, but in his nervousness something has gone awry. He looks down at his arm and notices a long, red gash. "Are you okay?" the evaluator asks, concerned. "Yeah, I must not have retracted the blade all the way," he says, as he applies pressure on the wound. "It's fine," Charlie says a little too cheerfully. "What else can I tell you?" He crosses his legs in an attempt to be casual. "Um, I think I have enough," the evaluator says. "I'll leave you guys for tonight." By this time, Charlie has rolled down the sleeve of his shirt to cover the bleeding, which is profuse. "I'll be in touch if I have further questions," the evaluator says, as she rises for the door. Charlie helps her with her handbag, and struggles to unlock the front door to let her out. By the time he's done, the entryway looks like a crime scene. He runs to the kitchen the moment the evaluator leaves and puts his arm under some running water. With his good arm, he retrieves some band aids and struggles to apply them to his wound. He wraps his arm in some paper towels, and then slumps to the floor awkwardly, exhausted from the evening's exertions. Henry emerges from his bedroom to get some milk from the kitchen and finds his father lying on the floor. "Dad, are you okay?" he asks. "Yeah, I'm just tired," Charlie replies, as he hides his wound from his son. "Dad, did she like us?" Henry asks, oblivious. "Yeah, she thought we were great," Charlie replies.

Answer: She ties his shoelaces.

Charlie drops his claim to New York, Nicole drops her claim to the MacArthur grant, and their divorce is finalized. The next Halloween, Charlie flies out to Los Angeles to spend time with Henry. As he waits for everyone to change into their Halloween costumes, he tells Nicole that he accepted a residency at UCLA and will be in town for a while. "That's great," she tells him, before going to help Sandra with her zipper. Charlie hears Henry reading out loud in another room, and goes to investigate. He finds his son sitting on the edge of the bed, reading out loud from a couple of sheets of paper. Henry was shown struggling with his reading throughout the film, but has improved enough by this point that he can make out most of the words with ease. Charlie enters the room and sits on the bed next to Henry. "You're getting so good at reading. What is that?" Charlie asks. "He doesn't look in the mirror too of-ten," Henry says, reading out slowly from Nicole's list. "He is very self-suf...," Henry stops and looks up expectantly at his father. "Self-sufficient," Charlie says. "He can darn a sock..." Henry continues. "That means sew, like a hole," Charlie explains. Henry continues down the list, stopping at the more difficult words and waiting for his father to help. "You read it now," he finally says, passing the list to Charlie.

Charlie resumes reading the list, skipping over some sensitive parts about his parents, and pausing now and then to answer Henry's questions. At some point, Nicole appears in the doorway behind them, listening. "Keep going," Henry says. Charlie continues reading and for the first time, the audience hears the end of Nicole's list. "He's extremely organized and thorough. He's very clear about what he wants, unlike me who can't always tell. I fell in love with him two seconds after I saw him," Charlie reads, pausing at this point as he fights back tears. "And I'll never stop loving him, even though it doesn't make sense anymore."

After trick-or-treating, Nicole watches Henry sitting on the curb and turns to Charlie. "We were going to bring him to dinner, but he's so wiped out. You want to take him?" she asks. "It's your night," Charlie points out. "I know," she replies. "I'll drop him back in the morning," he says. Charlie lifts Henry up into his arms and turns so that Nicole can hug him goodbye. He begins carrying Henry towards his car, as Nicole watches. She notices something. "Oh, hey," she says, as she runs towards them in the middle of the road. She kneels down and taps Charlie's shoe, and ties the laces that have come undone. "Thanks," he says, and resumes walking. Above him, the sky is starting to darken as the credits roll.