The Title of Marriage Story
Although its title suggests Marriage Story will be about a couple who falls in love and gets married, the film is more solemn and is about a couple's divorce.
Charlie's Work
Despite Los Angeles being the hub of the entertainment industry, Charlie doesn't want to move there because he fears he won't be able to create and find work.
Bert Spitz
Despite the fact that Nicole has hired a bulldog of a lawyer for divorce proceedings, Charlie hires Bert Spitz, a meek and kind lawyer who doesn't fight sufficiently hard enough for his client. Nicole's choice of lawyer is the source of major conflict between the two in their oftentimes bitter divorce battle.
Money
Charlie is a working-class artist with little extra money. Despite this, he hires an exceptionally expensive lawyer who he can't really afford to fight his divorce battle. His hiring of the expensive lawyer causes a tremendous amount of tension with Nicole and is responsible for one of the biggest conflicts in the film: Charlie and Nicole's divorce proceedings.
Nicole's Drinking
Nicole drinks a normal and healthy amount of alcohol, yet is portrayed as being an alcoholic with serious problems that is incapable of caring for her child. Charlie's lawyer portrays her in this way to get a more favorable divorce agreement for his client.
