Marti Noxon writes difficult women without insisting that they become agreeable. We value the humour and awkwardness, particularly in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but sometimes the clever dialogue stops a feeling before it has had time to register.
Fi1m perspective
A joke arrives in Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997) just when a scene could use a little less talk. Noxon is one of the writers, alongside Joss Whedon and Jane Espenson, behind dialogue that can leave everyone sounding equally well supplied with answers. We were moved by Sarah Michelle Gellar's performance because she leaves the heroine's irritation intact, rather than making every difficult moment charming. The performances make the programme worth staying with, even when the supernatural plotting stretches a threat too far.
Noxon joined the writing staff in the second series, became showrunner for the sixth and seventh, and directed two episodes. It was here that she developed the habit of using genre stories to get at recognisable difficulties. That approach makes room for a heroine to be funny without suggesting that her problems have gone away. Some fans objected to the darker sixth series; for us, the risk of staying with unhappiness is worth taking, provided the writing gives it time.
Her writing and consulting-producer work on Matthew Weiner's Mad Men (2007) belongs to an altogether more patient programme. We admire its precise performances and the way it lets a story take time, with a caveat about its occasional smugness towards the past. Noxon worked within Weiner's series, so neither its virtues nor its failings should be treated as evidence of her directing. It is a substantial credit, but a shared one.
The move towards programmes of her own is clearer in UnREAL (2015), which she co-created, and Sharp Objects (2018), which she adapted from Gillian Flynn's novel. The former's satire of reality television and the latter's attention to a complicated female lead fit a writer interested in women who do not behave conveniently. Between them came her feature directing debut, To the Bone (2017), made from her own screenplay. These are sensible places to follow that interest beyond the supernatural, rather than expecting more of the same jokes. For a first encounter, we would still choose Buffy, and give it more than the pilot.
Biography
Marti Noxon is an American television and film writer, director and producer. She graduated with a B.A. in Theatre Arts from the University of California, Santa Cruz in 1987.
Noxon joined the writing staff of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997) in its second season and rose to executive producer and showrunner. She wrote or co-wrote numerous episodes and directed two. She later served as consulting producer and writer on Mad Men (2007), contributing to two Writers Guild of America Awards for Best Dramatic Series.
Her other credits include creating and executive producing UnREAL (2015) and Sharp Objects (2018), writing the films I Am Number Four (2011) and Fright Night (2011), and writing and directing To the Bone (2017).
